t^l^ 


Columbia  ZEJntbergftp 

LIBRARY 


A    MASTER    BUILDER 


THE  RIGHT  REVEREND  HENRY 
YATES  SATTERLEE 

Bishop  of  W ashington 


A  MASTER  BUILDER 

BEING   THE   LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF 

HENRY  YATES   SATTERLEE 

FIRST    BISHOP    OF    WASHINGTON 


BY 

CHARLES   H.   BRENT 


•  *  k 


The  house  that  is  to  be  huilded  for  the  Lord  must 
be  exceeding  magnified,  of  fame  and  glory  through- 
out all  countries:  I  will  therefore  make  prepara- 
tions for  it.  So  David  prepared  abundantly  before 
his  death.     I  chron.  xxii,  5. 


LONGMANS,    GREEN    AND    CO. 

FOURTH  AVENUE  fc?  3OTH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

39    PATERNOSTER    ROW,    LONDON 

BOMBAY,  CALCUTTA,  AND   MADRAS 

I916 


/&  -  '  s~  o  9  O 

COPYRIGHT,     I916 
BY    LONGMANS,    GREEN    AND    CO. 


a; 


TO 

THE    CLERGY   AND    LAITY   OF   THE 

DIOCESE    OF   WASHINGTON 

WHO   TWICE    CONFERRED    ON    ME    THE    RARE 

HONOR    AND    PRECIOUS     TRUST     OF    ASKING 

ME  TO  BE  THEIR  LEADER  IN  SUCCESSION   TO 

A   MASTER   BUILDER 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Preface xi 

I.    Concerning  his  Forbears,  1843-1856     ...  1 

II.    The  Youth,  1856-1867 9 

III.  The    Apprentice    Ministry    at    Wappinger's 

Falls,  1867-1875    24 

IV.  Setting  Line  and  Plummet,  1875-1882  ...  46 
V.    The  Builder  at  Work,  i  882-1 885     ....  74 

VI.    Mortar  and  Trowel,  1 885-1 889 96 

VII.     Stone  upon  Stone,  1889-1892 116 

VIII.     Fitting  the  Capstone  at  Calvary,  1 892-1 895  133 

IX.    The  Master  Builder,  1896 167 

X.    Or  Walk  with  Kings  —  nor  Lose  the  Common 

Touch,  1896 190 

XI.     Res  Severn,  1896-1898 207 

XII.     War  and  Peace,  1898 221 

XIII.  Visions  and  Tasks,  1898-1901 233 

XIV.  Invisible  Foundations,  1902-1904     ....  257 
XV.    Chiaroscuro,  1904-1905 278 

XVI.    Ad  Interim,  1905 288 

XVII.    The  Eleventh  Hour,  1905-1907 317 

XVIII.    The  Builder's  Square  and  Rule      ....  342 

XIX.    The  Coming  of  the  Cathedral 360 

XX.    The  City  which  Hath  Foundations,  1907-1908  393 

XXI.     Respice,  Aspice,  Prospice 408 

Appendix    I.     Extracts     from     the     Correspondence 

between   the    Bishop   of  Washington 

and  the  Architects  of  the  Cathedral  423 

Appendix  II.    The   Idea  of  an  American  Cathedral  .  457 

Index 461 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

The   Right    Reverend    Henry  Yates   Satterlee,   Bishop    of 

Washington Frontispiece 

The  Yates  Mansion facing  page     8 

The  Rev.  Henry   Yates   Satterlee,  Reclor  of  Zion  Church, 

Wappinger's  Falls 2° 

Zion  Church,  Wappinger's  Falls 48 

Calvary  Church,  New  York 76 

The  Rev.  Henry  Yates  Satterlee,  D.D.,  Reclor  of  Calvary 

Church I2° 

Calvary  Church,  New  York,  Interior 146 

Mrs.  Henry  Yates  Satterlee 166 

The  Bishop  of  Washington  and  the  Metropolitan  of  Silesia  200 

Memorial  Church  of  All  Angels,  Twilight  Park    ....  224 

The  Rev.  Churchill  Satterlee  and  his  Son 280 

The  Peace  Cross 37° 

The  Little  Sanctuary 376 

The  National  Cathedral,  Interior 386 

Laying  the  Foundation  Stone  of  the  National  Cathedral      .  396 

The  National  Cathedral,  West  Front 4*4 


PREFACE 

THIS  biography  has  been  written  under  great  dis- 
advantages, which,  added  to  the  natural  limita- 
tions of  its  author,  leave  much  to  be  desired  in 
the  completed  product.  It  was  undertaken  as  a  labor  of 
love,  out  of  personal  devotion  to  Bishop  Satterlee  and 
his  family  as  well  as  to  the  Diocese  of  Washington. 
Much  of  the  material  was  furnished  in  the  fall  of  191 1. 
At  that  moment  I  was  called  to  The  Hague  so  that  I  was 
unable  to  do  more  than  ..study  and  "arrange  some  of  the 
MSS.  Another  year  passed  before  much  work  was  done, 
owing  to  pressure  of  episcopal  and  other  duties  which 
broke  in  on  every  attempt  at  consecutive  labor.  During 
the  summer  of  191 3  I  was  supplied  with  nearly  all 
further  material  necessary,  and  from  that  time  work  con- 
tinued with  frequent  interruptions  until  the  completion 
of  my  privilege  and  my  task.  The  book  has  been 
written  under  widely  varying  conditions  —  much  of  it, 
especially  in  its  earlier  stages,  at  sea,  some  in  America, 
and  most  of  it  in  various  parts  of  the  Philippine  Islands, 
from  Jolo  in  the  extreme  south  to  Bontok  in  the  extreme 
north  of  the  Archipelago.  But  I  have  seldom  taken  up 
my  pen  without  forthwith  forgetting,  in  the  pleasure  of 
writing,  every  anxiety  and  difficulty  of  the  moment. 

Without  the  loving  sympathy  and  wise  assistance  of 
my  dear  friends  Mrs.  H.  Y.  Satterlee  and  her  daughter 
Mrs.  F.  W.  Rhinelander  this  book  would  have  been 
impossible.  Their  patience  with  me  in  the  many  delays 
that  have  postponed  its  publication,  their  eagerness  to 
illumine  any  obscure  matter  and  to  enlarge  upon  any 
subject  concerning  which  I  was  not  well  posted,  and  their 
utter  confidence  in  my  ability  to  do  the  theme  justice, 
have  supported  my  hands  and  lightened  my  work  through- 


xii  PREFACE 

out.  The  Reverend  C.  T.  Warner  has  also  given  me 
invaluable  aid.  Indeed  he,  and  the  Reverend  Dr.  W.  L. 
DeVries,  whose  notes  and  memoranda  have  been  con- 
stantly before  me,  are  largely  responsible  for  the  clear- 
ness and  orderliness  of  most  of  the  material.  To  Mr. 
Irving  Grinnell  I  desire  also  to  express  my  gratitude 
for  invaluable  assistance  rendered  in  connection  with 
Dr.  Satterlee's  New  Hamburgh  days.  The  historical 
notes  and  other  matter  prepared  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  G.  C.  F. 
Bratenahl  have  likewise  been  of  great  assistance.  To 
my  beloved  proof  reader,  Mrs.  John  Markoe,  I  am  more 
hopelessly  in  debt  than  ever  for  this  her  latest  service. 

Phillips  Brooks  once  said:  —  "I  think  that  I  would 
rather  have  written  a  great  biography  than  a  great 
book  of  any  sort,  as  I  would  rather  have  painted  a  great 
portrait  than  any  other  kind  of  picture."  My  own 
literary  ambition,  so  far  as  I  have  any  independent  of 
an  instinctive  desire  toward  self-expression,  is  a  like  one. 
The  trust  committed  to  me  by  the  family  of  Bishop 
Satterlee  has  given  me  all  the  opportunity  in  this  direc- 
tion for  which  a  man  could  wish,  and  these  pages  declare 
what  I  have  done  with  it. 

The  biographer  and  the  painter  are  close  kinsmen. 
The  biographer  does  with  words  what  the  painter  does 
with  colors.  As  one  goes  from  one  gallery  of  the  masters 
to  another  he  quickly  learns  that  no  single  artist  ever 
exhausts  a  worthy  subject.  Madonnas  and  St.  Sebas- 
tians, all  the  same  yet  no  two  alike,  pass  before  our  eyes 
in  an  endless  series,  each  telling  us  the  same  thing,  each 
telling  us  something  new.  So  is  it  with  biography.  The 
human  life  of  a  given  person  is  so  indescribably  deep 
and  wonderful  that  no  one  biographer  can  fully  exploit 
his  subject.  He  can  but  give  what  with  his  limited 
powers  he  sees  as  he  moves  through  shade  and  sunshine 
in  bosom  fellowship  with  the  man  whom  he  is  interpret- 
ing. It  is  just  that  —  the  biographer  must  live  with 
his  subject  in  the  close  intimacy  of  impartiality  through 
an  entire  career.     He  must  crowd  the  developments  and 


PREFACE  xiii 

experiences  of  a  complete  lifetime  through  the  medium 
of  his  own  perceptive  powers. 

There  are  various  conceptions  of  biography.  Without 
depreciating  any,  I  have  involuntarily  written  according 
to  the  dominant  conception  in  my  own  mind.  As  I 
have  just  said  I  hold  a  biography  to  be  a  word  portrait. 
It  is  more  akin  to  a  painting  than  to  a  photograph. 
But  a  biography  is  in  one  sense  even  a  higher  kind  of 
art  than  painting,  in  that  it  is  a  moving  picture  of  the 
man.  The  steady  flow  of  his  life  and  character  is 
represented.  The  duty  of  a  biographer,  as  I  have  tried 
to  discern  my  own  in  this  capacity,  is  not  to  suppress 
his  own  convictions  based  on  personal  touch,  but  to  keep 
them  in  due  relation  to  all  the  material  gathered.  He 
must  do  more  than  chronicle  bald  facts.  He  must  give 
them  color  and  atmosphere.  There  are  few  facts  or 
incidents  that  are  their  own  interpreter.  Moreover,  and 
here  it  seems  to  me  is  the  biographer's  most  dangerous 
and  most  delicate  but  imperious  duty,  he  must  dive 
into  the  deep  sea  of  motives  underlying  principles.  It 
is  ibecause  I  have  set  myself  the  highest  possible  ideal 
of  biography  that  my  shortcomings  are  the  more  glaring. 

I  have  been  guided  by  a  few  general  principles  which, 
if  stated  here,  may  make  this  book  of  greater  value  to 
readers  than  it  would  otherwise  be.  In  the  first  place 
I  have  always  let  the  man,  whose  personality  is  for  the 
moment  under  my  care,  speak  for  himself  where  possible. 
Usually  he  speaks  better,  though  on  occasions  worse, 
than  a  biographer  could.  Nor  have  I  balked  at  long 
quotations  where  they  served  the  purpose  better  than 
short  ones.  Among  long  quotations  are  utterances  at 
great  crises,  personal  and  official.  Some  of  these  are 
disappointing  and  we  see  our  hero  at  his  worst  rather 
than  at  his  best.  The  clergy  are  expected  by  the  public 
to  wear  their  feelings  on  their  sleeve  at  such  times,  and 
unfortunately  they  accept  the  rather  exorbitant  demand. 
The  result  is  as  might  be  expected.  The  emotional  con- 
vulsion of  the  moment  interferes  with   normal  judgment 


xiv  PREFACE 

and  good  taste,  and  sentiment  easily  lapses  into  senti- 
mentality. The  fault  is  evenly  distributed  between  the 
public  and  the  clergy. 

As  to  subject  matter,  I  have  been  furnished  with  an 
abundance,  almost  a  plethora.  Nothing  has  been  se- 
lected and  nothing  rejected  without  having  been  first 
put  into  the  scales  and  weighed.  Another  biographer 
with  the  same  material  might  have  reversed  some  of 
my  decisions  —  which  is  but  to  say  that  he  would  be 
another  biographer.  Whatever  merit  this  volume  has 
consists  in  the  fact  that,  even  if  it  be  only  a  daub  of  a 
painting,  it  is  my  daub  and  not  another's. 

Dr.  Satterlee  held  three  representative  positions  in 
three  representative  centres  of  life  —  the  pastor  of  a  rural 
community,  the  rector  of  a  metropolitan  parish,  and  the 
bishop  of  a  capital  see.  Some  history  of  each  place 
which  received  him  is  fitting  and  courteous,  if  not  neces- 
sary. The  mere  biography  could  get  on  without  it, 
but  a  future  generation  may  be  glad  to  have  what  is 
given  in  a  biographical  setting.  Much  detail  might  have 
been  omitted  if  I  had  had  in  mind  only  American  readers, 
who,  to  use  a  hackneyed  word  in  a  new  connotation,  are 
not  meticulous.  But  I  hope  that  my  volume  may  also 
fall  into  the  hands  of  English  readers,  whose  knowledge 
of  the  xaPaKTVP  of  the  American  Church  needs  enlarge- 
ment, and  that  sympathetic  consideration  which  is  im- 
possible without  it.  In  this  connection  I  would  add  that 
I  have  held  in  grateful  memory  the  unnamed  and  the 
unknown,  who,  in  Wappinger's  Falls,  New  York,  Wash- 
ington and  elsewhere,  have  made  their  unobserved  and 
fragrant  contribution  of  prayer  and  service  to  the  real- 
ization of  the  great  ideals  which  they  and  Dr.  Satterlee 
held  in  common.  For  their  sake  I  have  paid  homage 
to  the  local.  Those  uninterested  in  these  seeming  di- 
gressions and  my  apparent  disregard  for  proportion  are 
begged  to  give  such  passages  a  little  caress  as  they  skip 
them.  There  is  a  glory  for  some  eyes  in  the  common- 
places and   trifles  here  recorded. 


PREFACE  xv 

When  we  read  in  the  New  Testament  of  St.  Barnabas 
that  he  was  "a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
of  faith,"  do  not  let  us  fall  into  the  too  common  error  of 
conjuring  up  a  spiritual  prig  or  a  human  creation  quite 
distinct  from    all   who    lived    in    after-times,  and    conse- 
quently  unintelligible   to   us   of  today.      The   mind   that 
succinctly  and  graphically  described  St.  Barnabas  aimed 
to  make  him  the  comrade  of  and  intelligible  to  the  whole 
body    of    Christians.     The    best    way    to    interpret    the 
psychology  of  the  Bible,  and  to  translate  its  stately  and 
antique  language  into  familiar  terms,  is  to  bring  to  play 
upon  it  common  Christian  experience,  including  our  own. 
The  briefest  and  most  enviable  of  "tributes'    or  " appre- 
ciations '    can   be  duplicated   from   among  our  own  con- 
temporaries,  not   once   or  twice   at   that.      Henry  Yates 
Satterlee  was  "a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
of  faith."     This  does  not  mean  that  he,  or  St.  Barnabas, 
was  free  from  faults,  or  without  a  besetting  sin  —  only 
that    each    was    just    what    the    summarized    biography 
declares.     The  great   St.   Peter  was   a   man  of  extremes, 
ofttimes  wild  extremes,   and  was    swept   hither  and   yon 
by  gusts  of  contradictory  emotions  and  sympathies,  until 
the  last  rapidly  reversed  decision  which  nailed  him  to  a 
cross. 

No  one  more  than  Bishop  Satterlee  would  have  desired 
impartial  treatment  of  himself.  He  would  have  asked 
for  due  emphasis  on  his  faults  and  limitations.  In  my 
task  of  love  I  have  borne  this  in  mind,  and  if  I  have 
failed  to  introduce  sufficient  chiaroscuro  into  my  paint- 
ing, it  is  not  because  I  have  played  fast  and  loose  with 
the  material  at  my  disposal,  and  the  brief  but  rich  per- 
sonal experience  of  friendship  with  Bishop  Satterlee, 
which  I  was  privileged  to  enjoy.  The  portrait  I  give 
is  as  I  conceive  of  the  man.  His  death  was  a  signal 
for  the  production  of  many  miniature  paintings  or  appre- 
ciations. Concluding  these  all  into  a  composite  portrait, 
we  find  "a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of 
faith."     That  is  the  main  thing  to  remember. 


xvi  PREFACE 

As  I  lay  down  my  pen  at  the  conclusion  of  this  task 
of  love,  I  have  some  understanding  of  Izaak  Walton's 
words  in  his  "Epistle  to  the  Reader,"  which  prefaces  his 
" Lives. "  Referring  to  his  "Life  of  George  Herbert/5 
he  says:  "For  the  life  of  that  great  example  of  holiness, 
Mr.  George  Herbert,  I  profess  it  to  be  so  far  a  free-will 
offering,  that  it  was  writ  chiefly  to  please  myself,  but  yet 
not  without  some  respect  to  posterity:  For  though  he 
was  not  a  man  that  the  next  age  can  forget,  yet  many 
of  his  particular  a&s  and  virtues  might  have  been  neg- 
lected, or  lost,  if  I  had  not  collected  and  presented  them 
to  the  imitation  of  those  that  shall  succeed  us:  For  I 
humbly  conceive  writing  to  be  both  a  safer  and  truer 
preserver  of  men's  virtuous  actions  than  tradition; 
especially  as  it  is  managed  in  this  age.  And  I  am  also 
to  tell  the  Reader,  that  though  this  life  of  Mr.  Herbert 
was  not  by  me  writ  in  haste,  yet  I  intended  it  a  review 
before  it  should  be  made  public;  but  that  was  not  allowed 
me,  by  reason  of  my  absence  from  London  when  'twas 
printing;  So  that  the  Reader  may  find  in  it  some 
mistakes,  some  that  might  have  been  contracted,  and 
some  faults  that  are  not  justly  chargeable  upon  me,  but 
the  printer;  and  yet  I  hope  none  so  great  as  may  not 
by  this  confession,  purchase  pardon  from  a  good-natured 

Reader." 

Charles  H.  Brent. 

Manila,  16  July,  1915. 


A  MASTER  BUILDER 

CHAPTER  I 

CONCERNING  HIS   FORBEARS 

1843-1856 

Though  his  own  learning  and  multiplied  merits  may  justly  appear  sufficient  to 
dignify  both  himself  and  his  posterity;  yet  the  reader  may  be  pleased  to  know 
that  his  father  was  masculinely  and  lineally  descended  from  a  very  ancient  family . 

IZAAK  WALTON 

THE  value  of  considering  the  ancestry  and  family 
of  a  man  consists  chiefly  in  taking  account  of  the 
quarry  from  which  he  was  hewn.     Two  of  the  four 
biographical  sketches  of  our  Lord  begin  with  genealogies. 

That  Bishop  Satterlee  was  interested  in  his  genealogy 
is  evidenced  by  a  carefully  systematized  "  Index  Rerum,' 
containing  information  and  sources  relative  to  the  family. 
Their  name  was  originally  Soterlega  (Domesday  Book)  and 
runs  through  the  usual  gamut  of  change  in  family  names 
until  it  reaches  Satterlee.  The  meaning  of  the  name  appears 
to  be  the  southern  lea,  or  pasture  land,  of  Saxon  times,  so 
called  in  relation  to  some  more  important  locality,  probably 
Beeches  in  Suffolk,  from  which  it  is  distant  about  four  miles. 
Eventually,  as  a  reward  for  service  to  the  king,  it  became  the 
possession  of  one  Roger,  who  was  distinguished  from  other 
Rogers  of  the  country  side  by  having  the  title  of  his  acres 
affixed  to  his  name,  being  known  as  Roger  de  Soterle. 

The  family  passed  through  a  century  and  a  half  of  unevent- 
ful life  until  the  day  of  Thomas  Sotterley,  whose  adherence 
to  the  Red  Rose  of  Lancaster  won  for  him  the  uncomfortable 
reward  of  dispossession  and  exile  at  the  hands  of  the  vic- 
torious Yorkists  (circa  1470).  The  manor  then  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Playters  and  the  Sotterleys  lare  lost  sight  of 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  when  they  reappear  in 
Devon  as  Satterlee.     Their  identity  with  the  Sotterleys  of 


2  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1843 

Suffolk  is  certain  from  their  armorial  bearings  —  three 
buckles.  William  Satterlee  was  Vicar  of  St.  Ide's  in  Ide 
near  Exeter.  He  was  a  Royalist,  and  among  other  in- 
dignities suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Roundheads,  was 
chained  in  a  stable  by  a  dungheap  in  his  glebe.  Wil- 
liam's son,  Benedict,  came  to  America  in  1685,  and  there 
married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Judge  Bemis  and  widow 
of  John  Diamond,  all  of  New  London,  Conn.  From 
this  couple  were  descended  the  American  Satterlees, 
whose  most  conspicuous  representative  was  the  first 
Bishop   of  Washington. 

The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biography 
was  Edward  Rathbone  Satterlee,  who  married  Mary 
Lansing  of  Albany.  He  was  a  merchant  of  Albany  held 
in  esteem  by  his  fellow-citizens.  After  his  death  his 
account  books  revealed  that  he  had  the  generous  habit 
of  cancelling  debts  when  he  found  his  debtors  hard 
pressed  for  funds.  Edward  Rathbone  had  two  children, 
Frances,  who  married  John  C.  Bergh,  and  Edward. 

Edward  Satterlee  was  the  father  of  Henry  Yates  and 
seven  other  children.  He  did  not  engage  in  active  pro- 
fessional life.  Possessed  of  independent  means,  he  was 
what  would  have  been  described  in  his  days  as  a  cul- 
tivated man  of  leisure.  His  taste  and  training  were  in 
the  direction  of  art,  and  he  developed  considerable  tech- 
nique as  an  amateur  painter.  Sir  C.  Purdon  Clarke  on 
one  occasion  was  attracted  by  the  copy  of  a  Rembrandt 
by  Mr.  Satterlee,  which  he  said  had  caught  the  spirit 
and  coloring  of  the  master.  He  also  at  times  employed 
his  pen  in  the  service  of  art,  writing  critiques  and  essays. 
It  was  a  keen  disappointment  to  him  that  his  eldest 
son  did  not  choose  art  and  literature  as  a  vocation. 

In  appearance  he  was  tall  and  handsome.  Of  a  genial 
and  social  nature,  he  found  much  pleasure  in  entertaining 
his  friends.  His  dinner-table  was  a  source  of  enjoyment 
to  himself  and  those  who  assembled  around  it.  He  had 
a  home  at  West  Point,  New  York,  where  the  family 
connection  were  accustomed   to  gather   at  Thanksgiving 


1856]  CONCERNING  HIS  FORBEARS  3 

and  Christmas.  This  property  was  afterwards  bought  by 
Mr.  J.  P.  Morgan,  and  the  homestead  and  a  portion  of  the 
grounds  given  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herbert  L.  Satterlee. 

He  was  not  a  deeply  religious  man.  With  the  pride 
and  reserve  characteristic  of  men  of  his  type,  he  did  not 
discuss  religious  matters.  But  he  was  a  man  of  high 
moral  standards  and  held  the  respect  of  the  community. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  the  influences  of  many  years  had 
reached  their  climax,  and  he  was  on  the  point  of  being 
confirmed  in  the  Episcopal  Church. 

As  husband  and  father  he  left  little  to  be  desired. 
He  was  the  companion  and  friend  of  his  children,  leav- 
ing upon  them,  on  this  account,  that  impression  which 
is  as  unique  as  it  is  enduring.  His  were  times  when  high- 
minded  men  felt  the  responsibility  and  joy  of  domestic 
ties,  and  kept  unencumbered  sufficient  space  to  pay  them 
the  reverence  due. 

On  the  maternal  side  Bishop  Satterlee's  lineage  was 
distinguished.  His  great-grandfather,  Christopher  Yates, 
was  a  Colonel  Quartermaster  in  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, serving  on  General  Schuyler's  staff.  He  married 
Jane  Bradt.  Dying  in  middle  life  he  left  his  widow 
with  a  large  family  of  sons,  to  whom  she  succeeded  in 
giving  a  College  education.  Four  rose  to  prominence, 
the  chief  being  Joseph  Christopher,  who  became  Governor 
of  New  York  (1823-1825),  and  Henry,  grandfather  of  the 
future  Bishop,  who  achieved  senatorial  honors  in  his 
State,  was  mayor  of  Schenedady,  N.  Y.,  and  one  of 
the  founders  of  Union  College.  Henry  married  Catherine 
Mynderse,  a  descendant  of  that  fine  Dutch  stock  that 
has  left  its  flavor  in  more  than  one  State  of  the  Union 
to  its  benefit  and  honor.  Their  children  were  Mary, 
Stephen,  Henry,  Charles,  Edward  and  Jane  Anna,  who 
married  Edward  Satterlee,  of  whom  was  born  Henry 
Yates.  Jane  Anna  died  in  November,  1873,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-seven  and  her  husband  five  years  later  in  April, 
1878. 


4  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1843 

Jane  Anna  (Yates)  Satterlee  was  a  pretty,  attractive 
woman,  spirited  and  intellectual.  Her  son  Henry  in- 
herited the  personal  appearance  of  the  Satterlees,  who 
were  tall  and  dark,  but  he  owed  to  his  mother,  as  is  so 
often  the  case  in  creative  characters  like  his,  his  chief 
mental  and  spiritual  qualities.  She  was  a  brave  woman 
with  a  vivid  faith  that  found  expression  in  a  life  of  prayer. 
In  appearance  she  was  a  contrast  to  her  husband,  being 
fair,  plump,  short,  of  fresh  complexion,  and  with  a  great 
deal    of  simple    dignity. 

She  had  an  active,  acquisitive  mind.  For  quite  a 
time  she  was  a  semi-invalid.  But  she  turned  her  mis- 
fortune into  an  opportunity  for  reading  voluminously, 
including  in  her  study  the  history  of  ancient  religions. 
She  was  a  good  French  scholar  and  translated  several 
books.  She  had  musical  knowledge  and  some  ability 
as  a  musician.  Like  all  people  who  have  a  living  faith 
she  found  much  romance  in  life.  Her  versatility  added 
to   her  charm. 

She  was  brought  up  in  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church. 
But  she  had  also  personal  interest  in  the  Episcopal 
Church,  renting  a  pew  in  St.  Paul's,  Albany,  where  she 
attended  afternoon  service  on  Sundays  during  the  in- 
cumbency of  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Ingraham  Kip,1 
afterwards  the  first  Bishop  of  California,  and  that  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  A.  Starkey,  afterwards  Bishop  of 
Newark.  Henry,  as  a  small  boy,  used  to  come  back  after 
service,  tie  an  apron  over  his  shoulders  and  deliver  a 
sermon,  saying  the  Episcopal  Church  was  the  one  he 
proposed  to  enter. 

Dutch  phlegm  and  the  prevailing  habit  of  reserve 
did  not  encourage  Mrs.  Satterlee  to  speak  much  about 
the  deep  things  of  religion.  But  her  religion  was  none 
the  less,  probably  all  the  more,  intensely  real.  She 
lived  her  belief,  she  was  uncompromising  in  her  standards, 
and  always  retained  a  childlike  nature  which  was  re- 
produced in  a  heightened  degree  in  her  eldest  son.     Her 

1  Bishop  Kip  through  his  marriage  was  a  connection  of  Mrs.  H.  Y.  Satterlee. 


1856]  CONCERNING  HIS  FORBEARS  5 

cheerful  temperament,  unclouded  by  morbidness,  was 
fed  by  the  consolatory  elements  in  her  Christian  belief, 
which  were  not  lost  sight  of  in  the  doctrinal  intricacies 
of  the  Communion  of  her  fathers.  Though  following 
with  hidden  prayers  and  open  joy  the  course  of  her 
children,  who,  with  the  exception  of  two  that  died  at 
an  early  age,  became  communicants  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,   she  herself  was  never  confirmed. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  Edward  and  Jane  Anna 
Satterlee:  Mary  Lansing,  born  in  1840,  Henry  Yates, 
Edward  Rathbone,  Clarence,  Howard,  Katherine,  Graham, 
Arthur  Bergh.  Howard  and  Katherine  were  carried  off 
by  scarlet  fever  in  early  childhood.  The  rest  all  lived 
to  grow  up,  were  confirmed,  and  the  men  became  vestry- 
men in  their  various  parishes.  Mary  Lansing  married 
Captain  Robert  Catlin,  U.S.A.,  a  gallant  army  officer, 
whom  she  has  survived.  She  and  Arthur  Bergh,  the 
senior  and  junior  members  of  this  large  family,  are  the 
only  ones  who  are  still  living. 

In  a  memorandum  in  Bishop  Satterlee's  hand-writing 
we  learn  some  interesting  facts.  "I  was  born'  on  Jan- 
uary 11,  1843,  "at  112  Greenwich  St.,  South  west  corner 
of  Carlyle  St.,  New  York,  in  the  corner  front  room, 
second  story,  three  months  after  my  grandmother  Yates' 
death.  Dr.  Tonalier  was  the  family  physician.  My 
mother  was  a  very  cultivated  woman.  She  had  met 
with  an  accident  in  her  childhood  that  made  her  lame 
and  caused  her  great  suffering  from  necrosed  bone  all 
through  her  youth,  and  she  devoted  her  time  to  reading. 
She  spoke  French  and  Dutch  fluently  and  was  an  accom- 
plished pianist  —  an  excellent  scholar.  When  I  was  less 
than  a  week  old  she  repeated  Burns'  'Highland  Maid' 
through  to  a  visitor.  This  is  an  instance  of  how  her 
thoughts  ran  through  all  her  life.  It  was  her  practice 
to  have  recourse  to  literary  diversions  in  all  times  of 
trial,  for  she  never  became  a  professing  Christian  until 
about  ten  years  before  her  death  (at  56  years  of  age). 
From  a  sense  of  duty,  however,  she  gathered  her  children 


6  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1843 

about  her  all  through  her  life  and  explained  the  Bible 
on  Sunday  afternoons.  These  are  among  the  most  hal- 
lowed remembrances  of  my  childhood. " 

This  reference  to  his  mother  is  indicative  of  the  in- 
fluence she  had  on  his  character.  Her  sincerity,  which 
found  expression  first  in  shy  aloofness  from  certain  of 
the  conventional  and  outward  aspects  of  religion,  and 
later  in  her  open  surrender  to  its  claims,  repeated  itself 
in  the  singleness  of  purpose  and  reality  which  were 
prominent  features  also  in  her  son's  character.  She  died 
in  1873,  leaving  to  her  children  that  most  potent  of  all 
inheritances,  the  enduring  and  indelible  memory  of  true 
motherhood,  the  best  substitute  for  which  is  a  pale 
shadow,  and  the  total  absence  of  which  is  the  direst 
misfortune  to  which  a  man  can  fall  heir.  Lofty  ideals, 
pure  manners,  and  domestic  happiness  were  the  com- 
panions of  their  youth.  It  was  her  privilege  and  hap- 
piness to  live  long  enough  to  see  her  first-born  son 
launched  on  that  blameless  career  in  the  Ministry  which, 
before  its  close,  was  destined  to  be  fruitful  beyond  that 
of  all  but  a  select  few.  This  is  but  one  more  instance 
where  both  the  man  himself,  and  his  contemporaries, 
can  point  back  to  the  mother  as  being  the  operative 
source  of  his  goodness  and  success.  She  gave,  and  he 
accepted,  the  best  of  motherhood.  There  can  never  be 
any  other  result  from  such  a  relationship. 

The  family  did  not  live  long  in  New  York.  In  1846 
they  moved  to  Albany.  Henry  Yates  had  bought  the 
house  of  his  brother,  the  Governor,  after  he  died.  It 
was  a  roomy  old  Dutch  mansion  in  large  grounds.  A 
church  now  occupies  the  site  where  it  formerly  stood. 

Mr.  Yates  in  the  loneliness  consequent  upon  his  in- 
creasing age  and  his  widowhood  opened  his  doors  to 
receive  his  daughter  and. her  family,  and  his  house  there- 
after became  their  home  for  ten  years.  Mrs.  Satterlee 
took  charge  of  the   household   affairs. 

It  was  in  these  sheltered  and  cultured  surroundings 
that  Henry's  happy   boyhood  began  to  develop,  and  his 


1856]  CONCERNING  HIS  FORBEARS  7 

earliest  recollections  were  full  of  the  peculiar  fragrance 
that  is  attached  to  congenial  home  life  under  the  best 
conditions.     His  sister  writes  of  him:  — 

Henry  was  a  healthy,  happy  boy,  fond  of  reading,  manly 
sports,  especially  of  making  all  sorts  of  collections  of  insects, 
minerals,  etc. 

He  would  assemble  the  family  to  witness  experiments  in 
chemistry  which  were  not  always  successful,  occasionally  result- 
ing in  an  explosion  and  total  darkness,  accompanied  by  a  strong 
and  penetrating  odor  of  some  chemical  which  had  not  worked 
properly.  The  house  was  a  very  large  one  with  extensive  grounds, 
and  I  sometimes  would  invite  a  few  girl  friends  to  see  the  ath- 
letic games  and  races  in  which  Henry  with  his  brother  Edward 
and  some  boy  companions  would  participate,  on  which  occasion 
we  would  sit  in  a  gaily  dressed  balcony  overlooking  the  horse- 
chestnut  grove  where  the  contest  took  place,  the  victor  being 
crowned  by  the  chosen  "Queen  of  Beauty." 

At  other  times  my  brother  would  be  the  head  magician  in  an 
exhibition  of  legerdemain  given  in  a  structure  called  the  "engine 
house/3  as  we  were  obliged  to  keep  a  fire  engine  of  our  own  for 
emergencies. 

I  mention  these  incidents  merely  to  show  that  Henry  was  a 
very  jolly  and  normal  boy,  fond  of  the  usual  games  and  sports 
of  youth. 

Hospitality  was  the  law  of  the  Yates  Mansion  and  the 
memory  still  lives  of  a  grand  fancy-dress  ball  in  1847, 
at  which  Henry  made  his  first  public  appearance.  His 
father  and  mother  represented  Charles  I  and  Henrietta. 
He  and  his  sisters  were  pages.  His  dignity  and  inde- 
pendence led  to  a  vigorous  protest  on  his  part  against 
being  carried  into  the  ballroom.  He  claimed  the  right 
to  enter  on  his  own  sturdy  four-year-old  legs. 

Mr.  Yates  died  on  March  20,  1854.  The  following 
is  the  obituary  notice  that  appeared  in  the  Schenectady 
Cabinet  of  March  28: 

DEATH   OF   AN   AGED    CITIZEN 

Another  old  and  respectable  Citizen  has  been  gathered  to  his 
Fathers.     Henry  Yates,  long  a  sufferer  from   Paralysis,  though 


8  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1843 

able  until  almost  the  last  day  of  his  life  to  take  the  air  in  his 
carriage,  expired  this  morning,  in  the  84th  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Yates  belonged  to  a  Family  distinguished  for  intelli- 
gence, enterprise  and  public  spirit,  and  for  its  participation  in 
the  Executive,  Judicial  and  Legislative  responsibilities  of  the 
Government  from  our  earliest  history. 

Christopher  Yates,  Father  of  the  deceased,  took  an  active 
part  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  a  Commissioner  of  Forfeitures 
after  our  Independence  was  achieved.  The  late  Gov.  Yates, 
the  late  Professor  Andrew  Yates,  and  the  late  John  B.  Yates, 
were  brothers  of  the  now  deceased,  and  we  believe,  last  sur- 
vivor of  the  Family. 

Mr.  Yates  was  born  at  Schenedady,  in  1770.  After  his  ad- 
mission to  the  Bar  he  was  for  many  years  successfully  engaged 
in  the  Practice  of  the  Law.  In  181 7  or  'i 8  he  was  elected  to  the 
Senate  from  the  old  Middle  District,  and  was,  for  four  years,  an 
influential  Member  of  that  body,  with  such  men  as  Abram  Van 
Vechten,  Cadwallader  D.  Colden,  Gideon  Granger,  Henry  Sey- 
mour, &c.  &c.  for  colleagues. 

Several  years  ago  Mr.  Yates,  pressed  by  age  and  infirmities, 
retired  from  business  and  fixed  his  residence  in  the  old  Mansion 
of  the  late  Peter  W.  Yates,  occupied  successively  by  Governors 
Tompkins,  Clinton  and  Seward,  where,  surrounded  by  those  who 
were  dearest  to  him,  with  all  the  relief  that  affluence  and  science 
could  bring,  and  all  the  consolations  that  affection  and  religion 
could  impart,  this  aged  and  stricken  man  lingered  and  died  — 
Albany  Journal,  20th. 

Mr.  Yates  resided  in  this  city  till  the  year  1826,  when  he  re- 
moved to  New- York,  and  subsequently  to  the  city  of  Albany. 
Besides  the  stations  above  named  which  he  filled,  he  was  for 
many  years  Mayor  of  this  city  and  First  Judge  of  the  country. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Appointment  and  represented 
this  country  in  the  Convention  which  adopted  the  second  con- 
stitution of  the  state.  Many  eminent  citizens  were  his  law 
students  —  such  as  Judge  Conklin,  Gideon  Hawley;  Bishop 
Doane,  of  N.  J.  commenced  reading  law  in  his  office,  which 
profession  he  abandoned  for  that  of  divinity.  It  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  say  that  Mr.  Yates,  as  one  of  the  then  demo- 
cratic party  in  this  country,  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  this  paper  in  the  year  1809,  and  always  proved 
himself  a  fast  friend  of  its  founder. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    YOUTH 

1856-1867 

Come,  choose  your  road  and  away,  my  lad, 
Come,  choose  your  road  and  away! 

And  the  way,  the  way  that  you  choose  this  day 
Is  the  way  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

ALFRED   NOYES 

HENRY'S  earliest  tuition  was  at  home  from  a  Miss 
Ellen  P.  Frisbie,  a  graduate  of  the  Albany  Normal 
School.  Later  he  went  to  the  Boys'  Academy. 
When  he  was  thirteen,  filled  with  the  physical  and 
moral  health  with  which  life  in  the  Yates  Mansion 
had  furnished  him,  his  parents  moved  to  New  York 
(1856).  This  was  the  year  when  the  missionary  spirit 
of  Calvary  Parish,  to  which  in  later  years  he  was  destined 
to  make  a  noble  contribution,  burst  forth  in  new  vigor, 
finding  expression  in  the  establishment,  under  Dr.  Hawks 
of  Calvary  Free  Chapel,  one  of  the  first  free  chapels  in 
New  York.  New  York,  now  the  most  multitudinous 
and  bewildering,  the  most  heterogeneous  and  cosmo- 
politan city  of  all  times,  was  then  a  compact,  homoge- 
neous and  rather  provincial  city  of  600,000.  Its  future 
immensity  was  only  a  dream,  and  you  could  in  those  days 
ride  out  into  the  country,  where  now  apartment  houses 
rear  their  gaunt  forms  in  place  of  trees,  and  the  swarms 
of  children  exceed  in  number  every  form  of  life  that  ever 
reigned  there,  except  possibly  insect  life.  Yet  it  was  a 
great  event  to  move  from  the  comparative  quiet  and 
seclusion  of  Albany,  with  its  conservative  traditions 
and  select  fellowship,  to  the  chief  commercial  centre  of 
the  nation,  where  then,  as  now,  "progress"  —  who  knows 


io  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1856 

whither?  —  was  the  watchword.  There  came  a  new 
meaning  and  added  romance  to  the  wide-eyed  boy, 
whose  half-formed  purpose  was  steadily  shaping  itself, 
to  know  the  full  meaning  of  life,  by  fearlessly  occupying 
its  most  hidden  corners,  and  living  it  to  the  full.  His 
sensitive  nature  was  trained  both  consciously  and  un- 
consciously to  respond  quickly  and  sympathetically, 
to  every  contadl  which  was  established  with  his  fellows 
and  their  interests. 

In  New  York  he  began  his  systematic  school  life.     He 
was  placed  in  the  Columbia  Grammar  School  under  the 
famous  Dr.  Charles  Anthon,  whose  editions  of  the  Classics 
gave   students   of  that   guileless   generation   most   of  the 
benefits  of  an  English  translation  with  none  of  the  odium! 
After  two  years  of  preparatory  work  he  passed  his  en- 
trance  examinations   for  Columbia  University.     He  was 
not  yet  sixteen  years  old,  and  it  fell  out  to  his  advantage 
that  his  regular  collegiate  work  was  postponed  for  more 
than  a  year;    instead,  there  came  to  him  the  broadening 
and  educative  influence  of  life  in  Europe  under  the  best 
conditions.     On   September   29,    1858,    his   parents   sailed 
for  Liverpool  on  the  Cunard  S.S.  "Persia/    taking  Henry 
and  his  sister  Mary  with  them.     For  nine  months  they 
were  on  the  Continent.     He  was  at  an  age  when  nothing 
escaped    his    notice.     The    experience    tended    to    mature 
him  beyond  his  years.     He  was  of  necessity  thrown  with 
companions  much  his  senior.     His  appearance,  equipped 
as  he  was  with  a  fine  physique,  led  to  the  supposition 
that  he  was  older  than  he  was.     His  handsome,  animated 
face    and    intelligent,    receptive    mind    won    him    much 
attention,  so  that  he  never  lacked  fellowship  among  the 
choicer  people  with  whom  he  came  into  touch.     Had  he 
been  built  in  a  lesser  mould,  he  could  easily  have  been 
marred   by  the  blight  of  self-consciousness   and   conceit. 
But  he  came  through  the  experience  benefited   and  not 
injured. 

In  Rome  his  latent  taste  for  art  was  quickened.     But 
he  was  not  too  absorbed  in  the  monuments  of  yesterday 


1 867]  THE  YOUTH  u 

to  neglect  the  social  pleasures  which  were  open  to  him. 
He  was  welcomed  into  the  delightful  and  gay  American 
society  resident  in  the  ancient  capital,  and  gave  and 
received  much  pleasure. 

The  only  letter  of  his  youth  that  has  been  preserved 
is  one  to  his  aunts,  written  in  his  clear,  bold  hand  from 
Vienna: 

VIENNA,    SUNDAY,   NOVEMBER   28TH,    1 858. 

Dear  Aunts:  It  is  my  turn  to  write  so  I  will  now  write  to 
you.  Mary,  I  suppose  told  you  all  about  the  Hague,  Amster- 
dam and  Broek,  (for  she  claimed  the  privilege  of  writing  to  you 
all  about  Holland),  so  I  will  not  repeat;  all  I  have  got  to  say 
about  it  is  that  it  is  the  most  old-fashioned,  meanest  and  durti- 
est  country  we  have  yet  been  in,  and  it  is  a  perfect  mystery  to 
me  how  the  inhabitants  can  keep  healthy  with  all  the  canals 
full  of  the  suerage  of  city,  in  their  streets,  but  I  was  going  to 
write  about  Prussia  not  Holland.  In  travelling  from  Amster- 
dam to  Berlin  we  remained  over  night  (for  it  takes  two  days) 
at  a  small  village  named  Minden,  where  we  saw  some  recruits 
drilling.  It  looked  very  strange  to  see  the  men  marching  all 
over,  I  assure  you  (for  provided  they  throw  their  legs  forward 
with  a  jerk  and  do  not  bend  the  knee,  they  can  march  in  any 
direction  they  choose).  It  was  late  at  night  when  we  arrived  at 
Berlin  and  very  cold.  We  went  immediately  to  the  Hotel  Du 
Nord,  which  is  the  best  in  the  city.  Early  the  next  morning 
we  went  to  the  King's  Palace  where  we  were  requested  to  put 
on  list  shoes  that  were  half  too  large  for  us,  I  suspect  the  reason 
was  for  us  to  polish  their  bare  floors,  by  sliding  along,  as  that 
is  the  only  possible  way  to  keep  the  shoes  on.  In  one  of  the 
rooms  of  the  Palace  are  the  drinking  cups  of  the  different  Kings 
of  Prussia,  some  of  them  are  about  two  thirds  as  large  as  a  pail. 
The  guide  said  that  the  Kings  used  to  empty  such  a  cup  in  less 
than  two  hours.  Pa  asked  him  if  he  could  do  it  but  he  said 
not.  The  Royal  Chapel  is  in  this  Palace  and  it  is  magnificently 
fitted  up.  The  floor  is  beautifully  inlaid  and  the  cross,  back  of 
the  pulpit,  composed  entirely  of  precious  stones,  is  said  to  have 
cost  over  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  sights  in  Berlin  is  the  Museum.  On  one  side  of  the 
steps  at  the  entrance  is  Kiss's  celebrated  statue  of  the  Amazon. 
It  is  the  counterpart  of  the  one  that  was  in  the  Chrystal  Palace 


12  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1856 

in  New  York.  In  the  Museum  are  pictures  from  the  earliest 
stages  of  the  art  down  to  the  present  time.  Among  the  most 
celebrated  are:  "A  boar  hunt"  by  Rubens  and  Snyder  and 
several  pictures  by  Raphael  representing  the  Madonna.  In 
an  adjoining  room  is  a  large  unfinished  picture  by  Raphael  rep- 
resenting "The  adoration  of  the  Magi"  which  is  only  to  be  seen 
on  application.  It  is  beautifully  drawn  and  if  it  had  been  fin- 
ished would  have  undoubtedly  have  been  one  of  his  master- 
pieces. A  perfectly  finished  copy  has  been  painted  which  shows 
what  the  original  would  have  been  when  finished.  In  the  same 
room  are  several  other  pictures  by  Raphael  and  his  father. 
Returning  from  the  Museum  we  passed  the  statue  of  Frederic 
the  Great  which  is  considered  together  with  that  of  Marcus 
Aurelius  in  Rome,  the  finest  in  the  world.  The  base  of  the 
statue  is  surrounded  by  the  Generals  of  Frederic  the  Great  in 
base  reliefs.  I  think  that  there  is  a  view  of  the  statue  (with 
trees  in  the  back-ground)  in  the  stereoscopic  views  on  glass, 
which  Pa  has  at  home.  There  is  another  Museum  in  Berlin 
called  the  New  Museum  which  is  close  to  the  old  Museum.  In 
it  are  some  coins  and  medals  —  in  a  room  down  stairs,  on  the 
upper  floor  a  room  full  of  sketches  of  celebrated  artists  and  a 
suite  of  rooms  full  of  historical  relics.  We  had  great  difficulty 
to  get  in  the  latter  (for  it  is  not  usually  shown  to  the  public) 
but  our  courier,  George,  applied  to  one  of  the  directors  who  gave 
us  a  ticket.  In  this  department  there  is  a  small  room  devoted 
to  Frederic  the  Great.  There  on  one  side  is  a  figure  of  "Old 
Fritz"  in  the  old  suit  of  thread  bare  cloth  which  he  usually 
wore  —  ano«  for  the  face  there  is  a  cast  that  was  taken  'post 
mortem."  On  one  side  there  are  all  the  pipes  which  he  smoked 
and  I  really  think  that  he  was  extravigant  in  them  for  there  are 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty.  In  this  room  are  two  cannon  ball 
that  met  in  the  air  and  flattened  each  other  so  that  they  stuck 
together.  We  visited  several  studios  in  Berlin  one  of  them 
belonging  to  Cornelius,  the  celebrated  painter  and  sculptor,  it 
was  very  fine,  although  it  was  mostly  composed  of  drawings. 
Some  of  these  were  beautifully  executed,  one  especially  which 
took  up  one  side  of  the  room  was  "beautifully  conceived."  In 
one  house  which  was  filled  with  studios  we  saw  how  they  mod- 
eled in  clay  before  sculptoring.  The  last  day  that  we  were  in 
Berlin  we  went  to  the  Berlin  Iron  Manufactory  expecting  to 
see  how  they  cast  all  those   pretty  knick-knacks  which   we  so 


1 867]  THE  YOUTH  13 

often  see  on  etargers  [sic~]>  but  it  was  a  secret,  and  no  one  was  al- 
lowed to  go  into  the  casting  room,  especially  Americans  for  they 
have  a  great  idea  of  their  sharpness  here.  From  Berlin  we  went 
to  Dresden,  but  as  Pa  has  written  to  you  about  that  city  I  will  not 
repeat  him.  We  remained  over  night  at  Prague  and  the  next 
day  started  for  Vienna.  It  was  very  cold  at  Prague,  the  ther- 
mometer being  fourteen  degrees  below  zero.  The  moment  we 
arrived  there  Pa  was  presented  with  a  paper  requesting  his 
circumstances,  age,  number  of  party,  where  last  from,  &c.  Our 
courier  says  that  we  will  have  to  go  through  all  these  operations 
in  every  city  in  the  Austrian  Dominions.  Although  it  is  an 
inconvenience  it  is  also  a  protection  to  travellers,  for  if  they 
should  be  arrested  for  murder  or  any  other  crime  by  mistake, 
by  this  paper  they  could  prove  that  they  were  at  another  place 
at  the  date  of  the  crime,  so  that  if  a  man  intends  to  do  right 
there  is  no  place  in  the  world  where  he  is  better  protected  than 
in  France  or  Austria.  It  takes  nearly  two  days  to  go  from 
Dresden  to  Vienna  so  that  by  the  time  we  arrived  here  we 
were  pretty  tired  of  railways  especially  in  cold  weather.  They 
say  that  it  is  unusually  cold  here  and  I  would  like  to  know  if 
it  is  the  same  in  New  York?  The  first  day  we  were  here  we 
went  to  the  bankers  and  received  four  letters  from  Aunt  Fanny, 
two  dated  Nov.  5th  and  two  Oct.  29th,  one  letter  from  Uncle 
John  dated  Nov.  9th,  one  letter  from  Aunt  Jeanette  dated  Nov. 
5th,  one  from  Aunt  Helen  dated  Nov.  7th,  one  from  Grandpa 
dated  Oct.  29th  and  one  from  Eddie  dated  Nov.  7th.  You  all 
expected  that  we  would  receive  your  letters  in  Paris  but  instead 
of  that  we  received  them  in  Vienna  so  please  direct  to  our  Banker 
in  Rome  next  time.     Hoping  to  hear  soon  from  you,  I  remain, 

Your  affectionate  nephew, 

HENRY. 

After  leaving  the  Continent  he  spent  some  time  in 
London,  where  the  serious  and  studious  side  of  his  char- 
acter found  edification  and  enjoyment  in  the  British 
Museum.  He  made  it  a  daily  resort  for  reading,  and  was 
chagrined  and  indignant  because  an  attendant,  whose 
caution,  or  it  may  be  ofnciousness,  exceeded  his  discern- 
ment, informed  him  that  he  was  too  young  to  be  allowed 
to  use  the  class  of  books  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
reading. 


i4  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1856 

He  returned  to  America  with  the  same  eagerness  that 
marked  each  new  step  of  his  life  from  first  to  last. 
Europe,  for  the  moment,  had  pushed  all  other  considera- 
tions into  the  background,  but  his  nature  was  too  stable 
and  acquisitive  to  be  unsettled  by  so  dazzling  an  experi- 
ence. The  next  thing  was  college,  and  he  flung  himself 
at  it  with  the  joyousness  and  vigor  of  unsoiled  and 
unspoiled  youth.  He  found  that  he  would  have  to  pay 
for  his  trip  abroad  by  doing  double  work  for  the  first 
year,  otherwise  he  would  lose  his  place  in  his  class.  But 
he  succeeded  in  passing  the  Sophomore  examinations  and 
kept  his  standing  in  college. 

He  was,  as  might  be  expected  from  his  native  endow- 
ments and  early  training,  both  a  good  student  and  a  good 
classmate.  His  most  intimate  college  friends  were  Gerard 
Beekman  and  his  cousin  Walter  Satterlee,  between  whom 
there  continued  the  closest  intimacy  throughout  life. 
Though  he  lived  at  home  this  did  not  hinder  him  from 
throwing  himself  with  zest  into  the  social  life  of  the 
University.  Among  his  associates  were  young  men  of  * 
the  gayer  sort.  He  was  no  prig,  and  though  he  abhorred 
evil  he  saw  and  enjoyed  the  good  in  those  of  his  com- 
panions who  were  lax  or  careless.  His  innocence  and 
virile  integrity  kept  him  from  defilement,  and  made  him 
that  most  powerful  of  influences  among  students,  an 
unconscious  influence. 

He  exercised  leadership  in  various  directions.  He  was 
President  of  the  Debating  Society  and  in  1861  delivered 
the  Delta  Phi  Junior  Oration.  Athletics  in  those  days 
were  not  the  prominent  feature  in  university  life  that 
they  have  since  become,  so  that  his  magnificent  physical 
powers  had  not  the  opportunity  to  be  exploited  for  the 
honor  of  his  University  as  otherwise  they  would  have 
been.  With  the  exception  of  chess  and  games  of  skill 
he  was  never  fond  of  games,  though  always  ready  to 
enter  into  the  play  of  children. 

Until  1 861  he  seems  to  have  exhibited  no  sense  of 
vocation.     It  is  not  surprising  that  his  earliest  movement 


1 867]  THE  YOUTH  i5 

was  in  the  direction  of  the  Army.  Those  were  days 
when  patriotism  Called  for  military  expression.  Nowhere 
more  than  in  the  college  halls  of  the  land  were  national 
questions  hotly  and,  in  many  instances,  intelligently 
debated.  The  integrity  of  the  Union  and  the  ques- 
tion of  States'  Rights  were  not  questions  of  mere  aca- 
demic import.  To  noble-minded  youth  the  cause  of  the 
enslaved  negro  was  a  clear  issue,  allowing  of  no  hesi- 
tation and  demanding  self-sacrificing  action.  Students 
offered  themselves  to  their  country  with  the  graceful 
abandon  and  glowing  ardor  with  which  the  lover  casts  a 
rose  at  his  sweetheart's  feet.  Young  Satterlee  was  as 
deliberately  reckless  with  his  life  as  thousands  of  his 
contemporaries  were.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  so 
earnestly  besought  his  father  to  allow  him  to  enter  the 
Army,  that  a  reluctant  consent  was  given,  provided  he 
could  succeed  in  obtaining  an  appointment  through  his 
own  efforts  to  the  United  States  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  New  York.  Henry  went  to  Washington 
armed  with  letters  to  influential  men  and  politicians,  but 
all  to  no  purpose.  He  returned  to  New  York  bitterly 
disappointed  "until  he  realized  that  the  Church  Militant 
gave  him  a  stronger  call,  which  he  answered,  giving  (to 
the  cause  of  Christ)  the  life  he  was  willing  to  lay  down 
for  his  country/5  His  ardor  for  the  nation  and  his 
devotion  to  its  principles  were  not  lessened  by  reason  of 
his  failure  to  become  a  soldier.  They  were  to  find  expres- 
sion in  other  channels.  He  had  all  the  Northerner's 
enthusiasm  for  his  cause,  and  stored  up  the  memory  of 
the  burning  events  of  his  youth  against  the  day  when 
the  effort  of  wise  men  would  be  bent  toward  obliterating 
sectional  lines,  and  he  himself,  with  balanced  judgment, 
would  be  called  upon  to  stand  between  North  and  South 
as  a  reconciling  influence,  with  the  last  wrinkles  of 
partisan  feeling  ironed  away.  He  lived  to  learn  that 
patriotism  has  a  higher,  as  well  as  a  more  enduring 
glory,  than  belongs  to  the  call  to  arms  and  the  accoutre- 
ments   of  war.     He    came    to    know    by    experience    the 


16  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1856 

meaning  of  dying  daily  for  causes  that  include,  but  do 
not  stop  with,  the  nation.  In  the  end  he  shortened  his 
days  and  gave  his  life  for  his  friends,  just  as  truly  as 
though  an  enemy's  bullet  had  laid  him  low  while  guarding 
his  country's  defences. 

It  may  be  said  of  Henry  Satterlee  that  he  had  a  natural 
bent  toward  religion.  He  was  endowed  with  the  gift  of 
faith,  nor  did  he  keep  his  talent  wrapped  in  a  napkin. 
He  was  baptized  in  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  but  had 
associations  from  his  earliest  memory  with  the  Episcopal 
Church.  As  a  lad  he  showed  the  seriousness  with  which 
he  viewed  religion  by  fasting,  which  is  not  a  habit  that  a 
growing  youth  voluntarily  adopts  without  profound 
motive.  When  working  out  a  grave  problem  he  used  this 
discipline  as  an  aid  to  his  purpose.  He  did  not  brood 
over  his  inability  to  enter  the  Military  Academy,  but 
after  the  edge  of  his  disappointment  wore  off,  he  accepted 
a  decision  that  seemed  at  first  to  thwart  his  best  ambi- 
tions, as  indicative  of  the  fact  that  it  was  in  some  other 
direction  that  he  was  to  find  vent  for  his  full  enthusiasm. 
In  the  course  of  his  study  of  ethics  and  his  reading  of 
Carlyle,  especially  Chartism  and  Past  and  Present,  his 
mind  was  turned  toward  the  ministry,  and  he  felt 'that 
this  was  his  vocation.  It  is  interesting  and  somewhat 
unusual,  that  he  should  have  first  thought  of  the  min- 
istry as  the  great  representative  Christian  vocation,  be- 
fore he  knew  in  connection  with  what  church  he  would 
ally  himself.  It  was  the  ministry  as  such,  and  not  some 
one  aspect  of  it  as  interpreted  by  a  given  church,  which 
claimed  him  at  the  outset.  The  commissioned  servant  of 
God  and  of  man  was  what  he  aimed  to  be.  He  then  set 
to  work  to  study  the  various  churches,  and  his  mind 
was  more  and  more  attracted  to  the  historic  standing  and 
sacramental  teaching  of  that  branch  of  the  Church 
Catholic  which  afterwards  claimed  him.  Professor  Milo 
Mahan1  advised  him  to  consult  the  Rev.  Dr.  Arthur 
Cleveland  Coxe,  who  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  promi- 

1  Uncle  of  the  famous  American  Admiral,  who  died  in  1914. 


1 867]  THE  YOUTH  17 

nent  clergy  of  the  Diocese  and  Rector  of  Calvary  Church, 
New  York.  Dr.  Coxe  was  himself  the  son  of  a  Presby- 
terian divine.  He  had  fought  for  the  position  he  had 
won,  and  both  as  a  historian  and  a  theologian  was  well 
qualified  to  counsel  the  eager  young  student.  The  result 
was  a  close  tie  binding  the  two  together.  Dr.  Coxe  was 
in  the  habit  of  calling  him  "his  boy.'5 

The  question  of  baptism  was  discussed  and  Henry  was 
baptized  hypothetically  on  Easter  Even,  March  26,  1864, 
in  the  church  where  he  was  destined  to  serve  as  rector 
so  long  and  well,  by  Dr.  Coxe,  who  also  presented  him  for 
confirmation  to  Bishop  Horatio  Potter  at  Trinity  Church. 
This  was  the  year  after  he  graduated  from  Columbia 
University.  In  1863  he  took  his  A.B.  Owing  to  political 
reasons  there  was  no  Valedictorian  Oration.  But  he  was 
one  of  the  three  candidates  for  the  Valedictory  Poem, 
another  being  his  cousin  Walter.  With  characteristic 
delicacy  of  feeling  and  generosity  he  withdrew  in  favor 
of  his  friend  and  cousin.  The  year  of  his  graduation  was 
notable  for  another  reason  which  left  its  mark  on  his 
whole  after  career.  He  met  at  West  Point  for  the  first 
time  Miss  Jane  Lawrence  Churchill  of  New  York  City, 
beginning  that  life-long  companionship  which  taught  all 
who  knew  them  how  noble  and  pure  and  beautiful  a 
thing  wedded  life  according  to  the  mind  of  God  could  be. 
Henry's  mother  took  the  young  girl  to  her  heart  and  a 
devoted  attachment  was  created.  It  was  her  happy  lot 
to  be  present  at,  and  share  in,  every  great  spiritual  event 
of  his  life  from  his  baptism  and  confirmation  to  his 
ordination  and  consecration,  and  finally  that  exultant 
service  when  his  mortal  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  the 
Little  Sanctuary.  It  was  she  who  rounded  out  and 
completed  his  personality.  Though  she  leaned  on  him  as 
on  a  strong  man,  she  gave  strength  to  strength.  His 
ideals  were  hers  naturally  by  reason  of  a  certain  likeness 
of  character  in  the  midst  of  much  that  was  unlike.  Her 
sympathy,  her  insight,  her  quick  and  accurate  judgment, 
were  a  part  of  all  his  achievements.     Her  hospitality  was 


18  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1856 

as  gracious  as  it  was  constant,  and  her  friendship  as  loyal 
as  it  was  fragrant. 

In  the  fall  of  1863  Henry  entered  the  General  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  New  York.  He  continued  to  live  at  home 
but,  as  when  he  was  an  undergraduate  at  Columbia,  he 
made  himself  felt  among  his  fellow  students  in  every 
department  of  Seminary  life.  He  was  not  content  with 
being  conventional  either  in  study  or  reading.  From 
boyhood,  and  especially  after  his  trip  abroad,  he  reached 
out  beyond  the  group  of  subjects  which  ordinarily  satisfy 
the  average  youth.  He  read  slowly  and  had  a  memory 
that  was  retentive  of  the  substance  rather  than  of  the 
mode  of  expression.  That  is  to  say,  his  intellectual 
assimilation  was  good.  He  read  with  a  pencil  in  hand 
annotating  or  taking  notes. 

A  couple  of  poems,  "Vision  of  Charles  the  Eleventh  of 
Sweden"  and  a  semi-humorous  production  with  a  moral, 
of  the  variety  that  students  affect,  entitled  "Stella  Pei- 
thologiana,"  show  facility  in  versification.  In  after  life  he 
wrote  a  number  of  carols  for  parochial  use.  His  college 
theses  for  the  most  part  are  thoughtfully  argued.  They 
bear  marks  of  maturity  of  thought,  power  of  expression, 
and  careful  reading.  He  is  convinced  that  the  moral 
causes  of  atheism,  where  it  exists,  are  its  root  causes. 
He  attributes  the  dodlrine  of  fatalists  to  untidiness  of 
thought,  which  confounds  "the  freedom  of  the  will  with 
the  power  of  performing.  And  as  men  are  very  negligent 
in  the  performance  of  their  duty,  one  says  he  is  not  free.'5 
Reason  and  revelation  are  not  enemies.  Just  as  *  arith- 
metic hands  us  over  to  algebra  for  those  problems  which 
it  cannot  solve,  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  branch  of 
analysis,  so  revelation  is  superhuman  reason,  and  we  pass 
from  reason  to  revelation."  He  discusses  the  atomic 
system  and  its  bearing  on  creation,  the  argument  from 
design,  and  similar  themes,  with  considerable  cogency. 

During  his  Seminary  training  he  had  special  advantages. 
His  Hebrew  he  learned  from  a  master  of  that  tongue, 
himself  a  Jewish  Rabbi.     He  was  devoted  to  music  and 


i867]  THE  YOUTH  19 

gave  time  and  attention  to  it  and  to  elocution.  He  also 
began  practical  church  work,  as  far  as  his  studies  per- 
mitted, at  the  Church  of  the  Messiah  for  colored  people, 
and  he  taught  a  Sunday  School  class  at  Calvary. 

On  July  9,  1865,  he  officiated  for  the  first  time  as  lay- 
reader  at  Wappinger's  Falls,  New  York.  After  a  second 
Sunday  there  the  Rector,  Dr.  George  B.  Andrews,  who 
was  in  need  of  help  owing  to  feeble  health,  asked  Mr. 
Satterlee  to  become  assistant.  The  congregation  added 
their  invitation  to  that  of  the  Rector.  Though  it  was 
the  custom  then  as  now,  and  probably  to  a  larger  degree, 
for  theological  students  to  act  as  lay  readers  on  Sundays 
in  missions  and  vacant  parishes,  Mr.  Satterlee  was  asked 
at  the  end  of  his  second  year  at  the  Seminary  to  become 
officially  identified  with  a  parish  as  one  of  its  clergy. 
The  matter  was  carried  to  the  Bishop,  who  agreed  to  the 
arrangement. 

During  the  summer,  which  was  spent  at  West  Point, 
Mr.  Satterlee,  with  the  aid  of  his  mother  and  future  wife, 
established  a  little  Sunday  School  at  a  place  which,  if  its 
name  indicates  its  spiritual  fertility,  was  not  promising. 
The  place  was  known  as  "Stoney  Lonesome." 

On  September  3,  Mr.  Satterlee  began  his  work  at 
Wappinger's  Falls,  though  he  was  not  admitted  to  the 
diaconate  until  something  more  than  two  months  later. 
On  November  21,  Bishop  Potter  ordained  him  deacon  in 
Brooklyn,  at  St.  Paul's  Church  (Flatbush),  the  Bishop  of 
Honolulu  (Dr.  Thomas  N.  Staley)  preaching  the  sermon. 
The  day  was  a  very  stormy  one  so  that  his  father  and 
his  future  wife  were  the  sole  representatives  of  the  family 
who  were  able  to  be  present.  He  continued  his  studies  at 
the  Seminary,  giving  Sunday,  together  with  such  marginal 
time  before  and  after  as  was  possible,  to  his  charge  at 
Wappinger's  Falls.  Those  were  not  days  of  rapid  transit, 
so  that  it  was  a  much  more  serious  matter  to  make  the 
journey  then  than  now.  Immediately  the  influence  of 
his  fresh,  strong  life  was  felt  throughout  Zion  Parish, 
limited  though  the  time  at  his  disposal  for  pastoral  work 


20  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1856 

was.  On  Christmas  Day  of  this  his  first  year  of  work, 
forty  communicants  gathered  to  greet  their  Lord  at  the 
first  early  service  held  in  Zion  Church.  By  Easter  the 
parish  already  began  to  show  tokens  of  that  steady 
development  which,  at  the  close  of  his  ministry  there,  left 
Zion  Church  as  an  ensign  on  a  hill.  Mr.  Satterlee  was 
full  of  rich  sentiment  in  his  religious  life  and  it  seemed 
to  him  quite  the  normal  thing  to  have  the  first  service  on 
Easter  Day  at  the  break  of  dawn,  when,  with  St.  Mary 
Magdalene  and  St.  Peter,  the  people  of  the  day  might 
live  the  event.  This  practice,  begun  during  the  first 
years  in  the  ministry,  was  continued  until  the  close  of  his 
pastorate  in  Wappinger's  Falls. 

Wappinger's  Falls  is  a  town  near  the  Hudson  River 
about  seventy  miles  from  New  York.  At  this  time  it 
was  a  place  of  1,800  inhabitants  and  had  quite  an 
English  colony  composed  largely  of  skilled  workmen 
employed  in  the  Garner  calico  works.  The  operatives 
were  men  of  intelligence  and  brought  with  them  the 
best  traditions  of  English  parochial  life,  which  were 
fostered  and  developed  by  Mr.  Satterlee.  A  number  of 
girls  were  also  employed  in  the  factories. 

Wappinger's  Falls  takes  its  name  from  a  band  of 
Indians  called  the  "Wappingers."  The  Indians  called 
the  stream  Mawenawasigh,  but  the  Dutch  afterwards 
changed  it  to  Wappinger's  Kill.  In  1770  what  is  now 
Wappinger's  Falls  was  the  farm  of  Peter  Mesier.  The 
waterpower  available  attracted  manufacturers,  and  in 
1825  the  print-works  were  established  around  which  the 
town  steadily  grew.  When  Mr.  Satterlee  first  went  there 
in  1866  it  was  but  a  village.  Twelve  years  later  it 
numbered  upwards  of  6,000  people.  It  was  the  boast  of 
the  town  that  nearly  all  of  its  wealthiest  inhabitants  at 
the  height  of  its  prosperity  had  come  there  as  poor  men, 
and  that  there  had  not  been  a  single  business  failure  in 
thirty  years.  Perhaps  its  worthiest  boast  was  that  those 
who  owned  and  controlled  the  local  industries  believed 
that  "the  world  was  not  made  for  them  alone,"  and  that 


1867]  THE  YOUTH  21 

their  interest  in  their  employees  should  be  "other  than 
forcing  just  as  much  work  out  of  them  for  just  as  little 
pay  as  possible."  The  employees  were  public-spirited 
citizens  and  were  led  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the 
community  by  such  men  as  Mr.  Irving  Grinnell,  Mr.  W. 
Henry  Reese,  and  Mr.  Henry  Mesier,  who  had  resi- 
dences in  the  vicinity. 

A  mile  and  a  half  or  so  away  in  New  Hamburgh  on 
the  river  lived  a  group  of  New  York  men  of  education 
and  moderate  wealth  forming  an  especially  congenial 
society.  Though  there  were  four  other  churches  in  the 
town,  the  Episcopal  Church  claimed  a  large  percentage 
of  the  mill  population.  The  bosses  of  the  different  rooms 
of  the  print  workers  were  almost  without  exception 
members  of  the  Church  of  England. 

The  beginnings  of  Zion  Church  date  back  to  1820,  when 
a  faithful,  loving,  and  courageous  woman,  prizing  the 
blessings  of  the  Church,  resolved  to  do  what  she  could 
for  those  around  her  who  did  not  have  access  to  them. 
She  collected  a  little  band  of  children  for  instruction, 
and  their  first  class  room  was  the  shade  of  an  apple  tree 
that  once  stood  on  the  spot  where  the  Parish  House  was 
erected  in  1882.  The  work  begun  in  the  wide  temple 
of  God's  fields  was  transferred  to  a  corn  barn  near  by, 
until  at  last  a  church  was  erected  and  a  parish  established. 
A  tiny  seed  became  a  great  tree. 

The  Reverend  George  Benjamin  Andrews,  S.T.D.,  had 
been  Rector  for  thirty-two  years  when  Mr.  Satterlee 
became  his  assistant.  The  old  gentleman  was  then  four- 
score years  of  age,  having  been  born  in  1785.  He  had 
grown  up  with  the  country.  His  infirmity  made  it 
impossible  for  him  to  minister  adequately  to  the  needs  of 
the  parish,  and  affairs  were  at  a  low  ebb  when  his  young 
assistant  joined  him.  In  his  earlier  years  Dr.  Andrews 
had  been  an  active  man  of  scholarly  attainments.  Like 
many  others  in  a  similar  position  he  failed,  as  time  ad- 
vanced,"to  realize  his  loss  of  power  and  clung  to  his  post 
with  loyalty  to  what  he  held  to  be  his  trust  from  God. 


22  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1856 

Had  a  man  of  lesser  magnitude  than  Henry  Yates  Satter- 
lee  come  to  be  his  assistant  it  would  have  been  impossible 
for  him  to  stay  and  do  effective  work.  Jealousy  of 
precedence,  tenacity  of  authority,  pride  of  place,  suspi- 
cions unfounded  and  irritating,  are  the  temptations  and 
often  the  habitual  faults  of  old  age  in  such  circumstances. 
Nor  was  Dr.  Andrews  wholly  free  from  idiosyncrasies  and 
crotchets.  But  Mr.  Satterlee's  disposition  and  character 
were  equal  to  the  situation.  He  became  as  a  son  to  this 
aged  servant  of  God,  who  was  justly  honored  and  loved 
in  the  community  where  he  lived,  humoring  his  fancies, 
strengthening  his  hands,  and  meeting  his  infirmities  with 
tenderness  and  tad.  There  were  occasions  when  it 
would  have  been  easy  for  youth  to  become  impatient  and 
quarrel.  But  Mr.  Satterlee  squared  his  shoulders  to  his 
responsibility  and  filled  with  dignity,  loyalty  and  honor 
that  most  difficult  of  all  positions,  second  place.  He 
learned  to  command  by  obeying.  He  made  it  a  practice  to 
see  his  Rector  frequently,  and  by  telling  him  everything, 
and  counselling  with  him  on  all  matters  that  pertained 
to  the  parochial  welfare,  suspicion,  where  otherwise  it 
might  have  arisen,  was  disarmed  and  a  beautiful  relation- 
ship established.  For  over  three  years  before  he  died, 
Dr.  Andrews  was  bedridden  as  the  result  of  an  accident. 
Mr.  Satterlee  never  neglected  him,  carrying  to  the  bedside 
of  his  Rector  in  his  daily  visit,  which  was  seldom  if  ever 
omitted,  everything  of  interest  in  his  work,  and  consoling 
him  with  the  thought  that  the  people  to  whom  he  had 
ministered  were  still  his  children  and  looked  to  him  as 
their  leader.  Mr.  Satterlee  in  all  his  after-life  never  had 
a  more  delicate  task  to  do,  and  he  did  nothing  in  his 
whole  career  more  admirably.  It  was  not  merely  that 
he  was  able  to  live  peaceably  in  difficult  and  unwonted 
circumstances,  but  he  filled  the  place  of  leadership  with- 
out parade  of  authority  or  lack  of  loyalty,  when  the 
leader  himself  was  incapacitated  to  lead  and  clung  withal 
to  the  phantom  of  leadership.  Through  ten  long  years 
Mr.    Satterlee   remained    an    assistant   when   his   ripening 


1867]  THE  YOUTH  23 

powers  were  calling  for  the  largest  liberty  of  adion,  and 
when  he  could  easily  have  found  more  spacious  ecclesi- 
astical surroundings.  But  position  as  such  was  neither 
then  nor  later  a  prize  to  him.  Opportunity  to  serve  was 
all  he  ever  asked.  Sometimes  he  found  it  best  in  con- 
nection with  conspicuous  office  and  made  good  use  of  it. 
But  he  was  able  to  do  this  because,  in  his  apprenticeship, 
he  had  learned  that  power  and  opportunity  to  do  good 
work  are  dependent  neither  upon  easy  conditions  nor 
being  in  the  public  eye.  Those  who  serve  best  in  high 
office  are  the  men  who  have  been  trained,  like  him,  to 
labor  well  in  obscurity  and  hard  conditions.  Probably 
there  is  no  school  which  turns  out  better  graduates  than 
such  a  one  as  Mr.   Satterlee  went  through  to  his  great 

credit. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  June,  1866,  he  received  the 
degree  of  B.D.  from  the  General  Theological  Seminary. 
Two  days  later  he  took  to  himself  his  bride,  Jane 
Lawrence  Churchill,  who  quickly  won  as  unique  and 
intimate  a  place  in  the  esteem  and  affection  of  the 
people  of  Wappinger's  Falls  as  that  which  her  husband 
already  occupied. 

Mr.  Satterlee  did  not  hasten  to  be  advanced  to  the 
priesthood.  He  served  full  time  as  deacon.  He  was 
ordained  priest  in  St.  Ann's  Church,  New  York,  by 
Bishop  Horatio  Potter  on  January  11,  1867,  his  twenty- 
fourth  birthday. 

After  the  completion  of  his  Seminary  course  he  settled 
in  New  Hamburgh  with  his  wife.  The  Redtory  was 
occupied  and  no  house  was  available,  even  if  his  munifi- 
cent salary,  which  had  been  advanced  from  #500  to  #750 
a  year  upon  his  marriage,  would  have  permitted  of  house 
rent.  Mr.  Irving  Grinnell,  whose  friendship  he  had 
already  won,  offered  him  for  a  year  a  cottage  on  his 
estate,  formerly  occupied  by  a  member  of  the  Howland 
family.  There  as  Mr.  GrinneH's  guests,  he  and  his  bride 
began  their  long  and  happy  married  life. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   APPRENTICE   MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER's    FALLS 

1 867-1 875 

When  the  fight  begins  within  himself, 
A  man's  worth  something.     God  stoops  o'er  his  head, 
Satan  looks  up  between  his  feet  —  both  tug  — 
He's  left,  himself,  i'  the  middle:  the  soul  wakes 
And  grows.     Prolong  that  battle  through  his  life! 
Never  leave  growing  till  the  life  to  come! 

ROBERT   BROWNING 

THE  promise  of  boyhood  was  fulfilled  in  early  man- 
hood. The  young  priest  of  twenty-four  years  of 
age  set  out  on  his  ministerial  career  with  all  the 
joyousness  that  a  disciplined  body,  a  blameless  con- 
science, a  well-informed  mind,  and  a  clear  consciousness 
of  vocation,  could  contribute. 

He  stood  straight  in  his  six  feet  two  of  superb,  well- 
proportioned  manhood,  his  soul  looking  out  of  his  eager 
blue-gray  eyes.  His  handsome,  regular  features,  which 
bore  the  marks  of  refinement  and  culture,  completed 
his  distinguished  appearance.  His  physique  made  him 
superior  to  weariness,  and  work  was  not  a  hard  task  at 
its  worst. 

It  was  said  of  him  after  his  death: 

He  had  a  certain  air  of  the  soldier  clinging  to  him,  and  some 
called  him  the  "Cavalry  Bishop,"  because  both  when  young,  or 
even  later,  in  the  prime  of  life,  he  possessed  such  a  manly,  win- 
ning personality,  as  to  create  the  impression  that  his  hand  was 
suited  both  to  the  sabre  and  the  Prayer  Book.  All  this  was 
naturally  attractive  to  men,  but,  whether  from  that  or  other 
reasons,  he  drew  them  to  him  with  hooks  of  steel.     Large  men 


1875D        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S   FALLS  25 

felt  the  presence  of  the  large  man.  They  looked  up  to  him  and 
acknowledged  him.  Men  placed  in  supreme  authority  took  him 
by  the  hand  and  trusted  him.  It  was  splendidly  right  that  it 
should  be  so. 

He  began  his  moral  life  right,  learning  to  act  quickly 
upon  moral  intuition  and  so  avoiding  that  painful, 
self-conscious  journey  back  to  moral  sensitiveness  which  is 
the  lot  of  those  who  early  in  life  have  thwarted  conscience, 
or  otherwise  trifled  with  its  dictates.  Nor  was  his  in- 
tegrity lacking  in  virility.  No  man  endowed  with  as 
great  natural  powers  as  he  was,  could  fail  to  know  the 
meaning  of  temptation  in  the  full  range  and  danger  of 
its  sweep.  His  was  a  warrior  soul.  He  had  to  fight  and 
wished  to  fight  for  the  treasures  he  coveted.  In  later 
life  he  intimated  to  a  dear  friend  how  his  very  strength 
and  health  involved  fierce  onslaughts  of  temptation. 
Were  he  able  to  direct  these  written  words,  he  would  like 
to  say  to  students  of  today  that  his  virility  was  due  to 
struggle,  struggle  which  never  permitted  moral  vacations 
or  condoned  occasional  lapses  from  righteousness;  that 
his  self-respect  was  reached  by  toiling  up  the  steep  heights 
of  self-conquest;  that  he  understood  men,  not  with  the 
theoretic  sympathy  of  an  onlooker  peering  out  from 
some  sheltered  nook,  but  as  a  sharer  in  the  common 
toil  of  the  common  day;  as  one  who  knew  life's  depths 
and  heights  from  an  intimate,  inside  experience. 

His  education  had  been  the  best  that  the  day  afforded. 
But  it  was  not  curriculum  study  that  equipped  him  to 
be  a  leader  of  thought.  He  was  always  a  fearless  disciple 
and  apostle  of  the  truth,  and  could  not  content  himself 
with  what  was  prescribed  for  him  by  the  conventional 
methods  of  his  generation.  Of  course  during  his  school 
and  college  days  the  time-honored  system  of  classical 
education,  transplanted  from  England,  prevailed,  and  the 
idea  of  vocational  training  had  not  as  yet  appeared  above 
the  horizon.  The  episode  in  the  British  Museum,  when 
he    read    what    the    over-prudent    curator    deemed    to    be 


26  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1867 

unsuitable,  was  characteristic.  He  early  learned  to  think 
along  independent  lines,  though  his  historic  sense  kept 
him  from  intellectual  isolation  and  eccentricity.  Habits 
of  study  and  thought  were  created  in  youth,  which  amid 
all  the  distractions  of  later  years  were  never  abandoned 
and  seldom  relaxed.  Indeed  he  was  more  of  a  student 
than  was  generally  supposed.  There  is  a  story  that 
during  his  boyhood  his  determination  to  pursue  his 
studies  was  so  earnest  that  he  would  put  soap  in  his 
eyes  to  keep  himself  awake.  Though  a  lover  of  philoso- 
phy he  never  became  the  servant  of  any  one  philosopher, 
but  walked  as  an  eclectic.  His  mind  was  better  than 
nimble.  It  was  thorough.  He  moved  slowly  and  pene- 
tratingly. Difficulties  aroused  his  interest  as  well  as 
challenged  his  powers,  and  he  walked  straight  into  their 
heart,  observing  as  he  went.  His  tastes  were  as  broad 
as  those  of  a  cultured  man  should  be,  and  the  information 
he  had  on  any  given  subject  was  likely  to  be  reliable. 

Because  he  was  a  man  of  mind,  intellectual  doubt  was 
well  known  to  him.  As  he  fought  for  the  mastery  of  his 
physical  powers,  so  he  fought  for  his  intellectual  freedom. 
There  was  a  stage  in  his  development  when  poets  ap- 
pealed to  his  imaginative  nature  as  his  principal  precep- 
tors. Tennyson  helped  him  to  weather  one  storm  in  his 
earlier  life.  Such  poems  as  the  "Two  Voices/3  the 
"Higher  Pantheism,"  and  "In  Memoriam'  left  an 
abiding  mark  upon  his  character.  Later  it  was  Brown- 
ing, who  always  speaks  to  men  who  have  tried  to  live 
breast  forward,  eyes  upward,  thought  outward,  who 
helped  to  arm  him  for  his  campaigns.  He  was  also  a 
student  of  Dante. 

With  all  his  seriousness  he  did  not  lack  in  playfulness. 
Of  few  men  can  it  be  said  more  truly  that  he  had  God 
in  all  his  thoughts.  But  the  result  was  not  to  alienate 
him  from  the  world  about  him.  Indeed  it  was  quite  the 
reverse.  It  quickened  his  sympathies  and  enabled  him 
to  find  recreation  in  everything  he  undertook.  He  was 
never  given   to   athletics,   partly   by   accident,   partly  for 


THE  REV.  HENRY  YATES  SATTERLEE,  D.D. 

Rrclor  of  Zion  Church,  Wappinger  s  Falls 


1 875]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S  FALLS  27 

the  very  reason  just  mentioned.  He  was  neither  a  good 
walker  nor  a  good  climber,  though  he  loved  to  ramble  with 
his  son  looking  for  botanical  specimens.  Music  was  little 
short  of  a  passion  with  him.  The  reason  why  chess 
attracted  him  was  because  he  could  wholly  lose  himself 
in  it,  and  furthermore  because  he  was  keenly  interested 
in  strategy.     Then,  too,  chess  is  much  like  work. 

He  had  natural  piety.  God  as  the  moral  governor  of 
the  universe  brought  him  in  adoration  and  homage  to 
his  knees.  He  frequently  found  God's  voice  where  others 
could  hear  only  confused  noises  or  echoes.  The  secret 
of  his  life  was  that  habit  of  prayer,  formed  in  boyhood, 
to  which  he  solemnly  committed  himself  at  ordination 
until,  in  a  true  sense,  he  prayed  without  ceasing.  Noth- 
ing was  too  small  or  unimportant,  nothing  too  extensive 
or  unwieldy,  to  talk  to  God  about  —  the  weather,  a 
possible  reunion  with  a  friend,  the  affairs  of  the  nation  or 
the  world,  all  found  place  in  his  conversation  with  God. 
He  knew  the  meaning  of  worship  in  its  more  wonderful 
reaches  —  petition,  thanksgiving,  intercession,  yes;  but 
also  adoration  and  praise.  When  he  said  the  Te  Deum 
it  was  sometimes  as  though  he  were  transported  from  his 
surroundings,  so  deeply  was  his  soul  submerged  in  its 
depths. 

The  mystic  was  not  the  visionary.  He  combined  in 
his  character  power  to  see  and  power  to  do,  the  latter 
gaining  its  impetus  from  the  former.  It  might  be  said 
of  him  that  he  united  in  himself  "a  sufficient  other- 
worldliness  without  fanaticism  and  a  sufficient  this- 
worldliness  without  philistinism.,,1 

His  religious  convictions  were  of  a  catholic  order.  He 
was  born  into  the  vigorous  Protestantism  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  which  counted  among  its  adherents 
in  Albany  some  of  the  choicest  of  people  of  Dutch  origin, 
who  did  honor  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  But  the 
Episcopal  Church  had  at  that  time  one  of  its  most  able 
and   pious  of  leaders  in  Albany,    Dr.   William   Ingraham 

1  Von  Hiigel,  Eternal  Lift,  p.  255. 


28  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1867 

Kip,  and  Mr.  Satterlee's  earlier  memory  of  Church 
matters  was  interwoven  with  the  Episcopal  Church  which 
was,  so  to  speak,  the  second  family  choice.  If  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  was  the  Church  of  his  mother's 
family,  the  Church  of  England  or  its  sister  communion, 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  was  the  Church  of  his 
father's  family.  His  own  allegiance  at  the  beginning  of 
his  career  was  a  twin,  rather  than  a  divided,  one.  To 
the  mind  of  the  boy  there  was  no  reason  why  the  morning 
and  the  afternoon  churches  should  not  be  different.  It 
involved  no  inconsistency.  His  earliest  preference,  prob- 
ably a  mere  matter  of  inexplicable  taste,  was  for  the 
Episcopal  Church.  When  at  last  he  found  himself  with 
a  sense  of  vocation  for  the  ministry  he  was  uncertain 
which  way  to  turn.  This  time  it  was  not  unreasoning 
preference  but  earnest,  conscientious  study  that  swayed 
him,  and  finally  led  him  to  his  decision  which  when  once 
made  was  never  doubted. 

One  of  the  strongly  influential  forces  at  work  in  the 
Episcopal  Church  during  his  youth  was  the  Oxford  move- 
ment. It  was  a  controversial  period  of  Church  history, 
and  there  were  eminent  champions  of  the  high  and  low 
church  parties.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Arthur  Cleveland  Coxe 
was  a  representative  of  the  Oxford  school  in  many  of  its 
doctrinal  tenets,  and  in  theory,  as  his  poems  testify, 
though  not  in  home  practice,  a  ritualist.  Abroad  he 
might  be  found  on  occasions  in  cope  and  mitre,  and 
though  his  poems  described  worship  as  accompanied  by 
lights  and  incense,  his  church,  or  when  he  became  Bishop 
his  churches,  failed  of  these  symbols,  where  he  had  his 
own  way.  His  conception  of  the  ministry  was  inclined 
toward  the  sacerdotal.  He  believed  in  the  historic 
episcopate  and  apostolical  succession.  His  conception  of 
the  sacraments  was  most  reverent.  His  poetical,  imagina- 
tive nature  found  in  them  the  soul's  richest  food.  A  man 
of  personal  dignity,  a  scholar,  and  a  winning  and  intel- 
lectual preacher,  he  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the 
Church  life  and  thought  of  his  times,  both  at  home  and 


1 875]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S  FALLS  29 

abroad.  It  was  to  him  that  Mr.  Satterlee  looked  for 
counsel  at  a  perplexed  and  formative  moment  of  his  life. 
Though  he  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  Oxford  Move- 
ment, he  was  not  swept  away  by  it.  It  never  represented 
to  him,  even  in  his  youthful  eagerness,  an  exclusive 
operation  of  God's  working,  though  some  of  the  most 
enduring  enthusiasms  of  his  life  were  lighted  at  its  flame. 
Dr.  Coxe's  influence  aided  to  reproduce,  or  at  any  rate  to 
confirm,  in  "his  boy,"  reverence  for  the  visible  Church, 
with  its  Ministry,  Creeds,  and  Sacraments,  in  its  historic 
continuity  from  the  beginning.  Added  to  this  he  at- 
tached profound  importance  to  the  open  Bible,  which  was 
the  hand-book  of  his  own  life.  Neither  in  his  youth  nor 
in  his  after-days  did  he  suffer  any  violent  reaction  of  a 
religious  character.  His  adoption  into  the  Episcopal 
Church  did  not  entail  the  bitternesses  and  rejections 
which  so  frequently  accompany  transference  from  one 
form  of  Christian  belief  to  another.  He  was  under  God 
from  the  beginning  and  simply  moved  into  what  he 
deemed  to  be  a  completer  sphere  of  Christ's  operation 
among  men.  His  nature  was  too  big  to  expend  its 
loyalty  in  negation  or  controversy,  though  he  had  a 
strong  antipathy  to  the  papacy,  inherited  probably  from 
Dr.  Coxe,  which  sometimes  broke  loose,  and  blinded 
him,  for  the  moment,  to  the  more  admirable  features  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  His  sense  of  commission 
was  a  propulsion  and  inspiration  that  filled  his  heart  and 
hands  with  the  tasks  of  willing  service.  It  was  no  partial 
or  sectarian  vocation  that  enveloped  him  and  sped  him 
on  his  way.  He  conceived  himself  to  be  commissioned 
by  Christ  through  the  whole  Catholic  Church  in  its 
broadest  conception.  It  was  this  that  gave  him  courage 
to  embrace  the  whole  of  mankind  in  his  outlook,  to  accept 
responsibilities  which,  without  the  conviction  that  God 
had  sent  him,  would  have  been  intolerable,  and  to  main- 
tain that  firm  tread  and  cheerful  spirit  which  char- 
acterized him  to  the  end. 

His  method  was  the  spiritual  method.     That  is  to  say, 


3o  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1867 

he  placed  worship  at  the  core  of  all  the  activities  that  he 
controlled.  He  led  in  what  he  taught  about  prayer. 
He  was  quick  to  discern  what  a  given  situation  needed, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  make  use  of  any  legitimate  agency 
or  machinery  to  reach  his  end.  Though  he  was  among 
the  pioneers  of  institutional  church  undertakings  he  did 
not  believe  in  their  converting  or  edifying  power,  except 
as  adjuncts  and  implements  of  God's  Kingdom,  and  he 
spiritualized  all  his  mechanisms. 

Such  was  the  type  of  man  and  priest  which  Mr.  Satter- 
lee  came  to  be.  When  he  began  his  work  at  Zion  Church 
he  was  unformed,  but  was  well  set  in  the  direction  of  his 
ultimate  development.  There  are  some  men  who,  in 
feature  and  manner,  are  the  exact  reproduction  of  what 
they  were  as  little  children.  Their  growth  is  along  a 
steady  unswerving  course.  It  was  so  in  his  case  both  in 
body  and  soul.  Though  the  foregoing  analysis  is  descrip- 
tive of  his  later  life,  it  also  applies  in  a  degree  to  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry.  There  was  deepening  and 
broadening  as  years  multiplied  and  experience  accumu- 
lated. But  the  boy  was  in  the  youth  and  the  youth  was 
in  the  Bishop.  He  never  left  "growing  till  the  life  to 
come,"  and  his  growth  was  that  movement  from  strength 
to  strength  which  is  the  glory  of  Christian  increase. 

He  began  with  the  ideal  of  the  true  pastor.  His  aim 
was  to  bring  each  person  for  whom  he  was  responsible  into 
conscious  and  intelligent  relationship  with  Christ.  Every 
one  in  the  parish  was  speedily  known  by,  and  knew,  him. 
He  was  the  house-going  parson  that  made  the  church- 
going  people.  It  was  his  reward  and  joy  to  see  those 
whom  he  taught  come  in  increasing  numbers,  men, 
women,  and  children,  to  the  altar  for  their  spiritual  food, 
and  those  who  were  brought  under  the  influence  of  his 
teaching  came  because  they  were  hungry  and  thirsty  for 
God's  good  things. 

But  the  Church  services  were  by  no  means  the  whole 
of  the  religious  life  of  the  community.  They  were  only 
its   centre   and    motive   power.     The   business   and   social 


i87S]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S   FALLS  31 

life  of  the  place  was  not  left  untouched  by  spiritual  forces. 
Wappinger's  Falls  was  a  singularly  united  and  happy 
community  with  little  extreme  poverty.  Prosperity  and 
industry  prevailed.  Mr.  Satterlee  took  an  adtive  interest 
in  all  that  had  to  do  with  the  life  of  the  people.  He 
saw  the  need  of  proper  protection  for  factory  girls  who 
were  away  from  the  family  roof-tree,  and  established  a 
home  for  them.  Among  the  men  and  boys  who  had  not 
had  the  advantage  of  much  schooling  there  was  need  of 
doing  something  to  supplement  their  education.  So  a 
night  school  was  opened,  Mr.  Satterlee  and  Mr.  Irving 
Grinnell  each  teaching  twice  a  week. 

Mr.  Satterlee  had  two  ideas  which  he  felt  represented 
important  factors  in  the  life  of  the  mill  people  —  a  ther- 
mometer in  every  house  and  a  public  library.  Scientific 
hygiene  had  not  yet  been  hatched,  but  overheated  houses 
connoted  conditions  favorable  to  disease  —  hence  the 
function  of  the  thermometer.  Mr.  Satterlee's  senses  were 
very  acute,  especially  his  sense  of  smell.  He  declared  he 
could  at  any  time  have  told  in  what  house  he  was,  by  the 
odors  which  distinguished  families!  Neither  were  public 
libraries  then  a  commonplace.  Their  precursor,  the 
circulating  library,  dependent  on  local  subscriptions,  fees 
and  fines,  here  and  there  reared  a  modest  head.  In 
Wappinger's  Falls  there  was  no  library  when  Mr.  Satterlee 
came.  He  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  establish  one 
with  the  aid  of  his  friend  and  fellow-worker  Mr.  Grinnell. 
The  beginning  was  in  a  personality.  In  1866  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
A.  Howarth,  whose  husband  had  just  died  of  cancer, 
was  found  with  her  children  on  the  verge  of  starvation. 
In  the  course  of  an  effort  to  put  her  in  the  way  of  earning 
her  livelihood,  it  was  disclosed  that  her  father  had  been 
librarian  of  a  library  in  Manchester,  England.  Accord- 
ingly a  room  was  secured  and  supplied  with  books  and 
papers,  and  Mrs.  Howarth  was  put  in  charge.  For 
twenty-five  years  she  filled  the  office  as  a  devoted  and 
capable  servant  of  the  community,  living  to  see  the 
establishment  of  the  fine  Library  presented  to  the  town 


32  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1867 

by   Mr.  Irving   Grinnell,   over  which   she   presided   until 
she  passed  away. 

The  pleasures  of  the  people  as  well  as  their  information 
were  of  concern  to  their  minister.  The  town  joys  and 
pleasures,  certainly  their  best  social  times,  circled  round 
the  church.  Though  the  usual  number  of  churches  broke 
the  ecclesiastical  unity  of  the  place,  there  was  a  minimum 
of  fricftion,  and  there  was  a  kindly  relationship  between 
the  ministerial  forces.  Mr.  Satterlee  was  a  stubborn 
man  to  move  when  his  convi&ions  were  finally  set;  in 
spite  of  this,  he  was  a  hard  man  to  quarrel  with.  He 
was  too  big  to  fight  over  small  things  —  also  to  neglect 
to  fight  when  a  principle  was  at  stake.  But  he  was 
neither  by  nature  nor  training  a  controversialist,  and  he 
could  more  easily  find  common  standing-ground  with 
others  than  divisive  lines.  The  Methodists,  Baptists, 
Presbyterians,  and  Roman  Catholics  had  each  their  own 
flock  and  place  of  worship.  There  seems  to  have  been  no 
federative  or  co-operative  work  done  by  the  churches  in 
unison.     A  union  general  benefit  society  was  born  only  to 

die. 

The  common  enemy,  drink,  made  its  vicious  influence 
felt  in  the  community.  Mr.  Satterlee  was  a  man  who 
had  himself  in  such  good  control  that  he  felt  temperance 
in  all  things  to  be  the  real  preventive,  and  even  cure,  for 
excess  of  any  sort.  But  he  had  deep  sympathy  for,  and 
infinite  patience  with,  those  who  failed.  He  was  always 
ready  to  trust  a  man  into  sobriety  and  virtue.  He 
repeatedly  took  back  a  certain  servant  whose  performance 
of  his  oft-repeated  vows  fell  lamentably  short  of  their 
vehement  expression.  He  rebuked,  exhorted,  and  prayed 
with  him  without  discouragement,  and  when,  at  last,  he 
could  no  longer  take  him  back  he  made  his  decision  with 
tears  in  his  heart  and  a  sigh  on  his  lips.  Long  before  the 
Church  Temperance  Society  came  into  being,  a  society 
of  which  he  was  a  founder,  and  to  which  he  gave  much 
time  and  thought,  he  felt  drink  to  be  so  definite  and 
horrible  an  evil  as  to  demand  on  the  part  of  the  Church 


1875]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S  FALLS  33 

a  corporate  attack  upon  its  strongholds.  In  1867  he 
began  a  temperance  society  in  connection  with  Zion 
Church,  but  it  did  not  prove  successful  even  as  an  anti- 
treating  society.  After  a  brief  career  it  died.  The 
Church  Temperance  Society  owes  some  of  its  strength 
at  least  to  Mr.  Satterlee's  wisdom,  won  from  his  unsuc- 
cessful experience  with  the  local  movement  in  Wappinger's 
Falls.  Miss  H.  K.  Graham,  General  Secretary  of  the 
Church  Temperance  Society,  writing  in  1912,  says: 

No  name  is  held  in  greater  honor  in  the  Church  Temperance 
Society  than  that  of  the  late  Henry  Yates  Satterlee,  D.D.,  first 
Bishop  of  Washington.  From  the  formation  of  the  Society  in 
1 88 1,  when  Dr.  Satterlee  was  Reclor  of  Zion  Church,  Wappin- 
ger's Falls,  N.Y.,  to  the  close  of  his  earthly  life,  he  was  the 
loyal  friend  and  supporter  of  the  work  of  Temperance  Reform 
in  the  United  States.  A  member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of 
the  C.  T.  S.  from  the  date  of  the  Society's  organization;  he  was 
its  chairman  from  1893  to  1896,  when  his  consecration  as  Bishop, 
and  his  removal  to  the  Diocese  of  Washington,  severed  his  offi- 
cial connexion  with  the  Board.  He  lent  his  powerful  advocacy 
to  the  cause  of  high  license,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  law 
closing  saloons  on  Sunday;  to  social  investigations  made  by 
the  Society  into  the  causes  which  underlie  intemperance  and 
poverty;  to  the  work  of  rescuing  those  who  had  become  the 
victims  of  intemperance;  and  to  the  formation  of  habits  of 
sobriety  in  young  men,  through  the  order  of  the  Knights  of 
Temperance.  Many  of  these  boys  are  now  ministers  of  Christ, 
and  it  was  owing  to  the  influence  of  Dr.  Satterlee,  that  they 
took  up  the  work  of  the  Master. 

The  great  event  of  this  year  (1867)  was  the  birth  of  his 
son  Churchill  on  April  27.  It  brought  rejoicings  to  two 
people  who  were  both  highly  qualified  to  play  the  part 
of  parents  and  whose  children  lived  to  rise  up  and  bless 
them.  Their  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Irving  Grinnell 
shared  in  their  gladness,  and  the  already  close-knit  bond 
of  union  between  the  two  families  was  tightened  by  their 
acceptance  of  the  responsibility  of  sponsorship.  Churchill 
was  baptized  in  Zion  Church  on  June  30  by  Dr.  Andrews. 


34  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1867 

That  he  was  baptized  by  a  clergyman  who  was  born 
before  the  United  States  had  achieved  its  independence 
from  the  mother  country,  was  a  thought  which  in  after 
years  he  cherished. 

The  question  of  a  permanent  residence  for  the  Assistant 
Minister  was  pressing.  The  house  he  and  his  wife 
occupied  upon  their  marriage  was  on  the  beautiful  estate 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  New  Hamburgh  where 
Mr.  Grinnell  lived,  and  formed  part  of  his  homestead 
property.  For  a  year  the  young  couple  had  been  his 
guests.  At  its  close  the  house  was  again  offered  to  them. 
At  first  Mr.  Satterlee  felt  that  he  ought  not  to  accept  it. 
Finally,  in  order  to  put  the  matter  on  something  more 
than  a  purely  personal  basis,  it  was  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  vestry  as  a  temporary  residence  of  the  Assistant 
Minister.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grinnell,  "the  sunshine  of  our 
life,  the  benefactors  of  our  parish"  —  could  any  words  be 
more  fully  descriptive  of  the  relationship  which  called 
them  forth?  —  not  only  made  the  offer  but  also  begged 
the  Satterlees  to  remain,  themselves  abandoning  their 
customary  return  to  New  York  for  the  winter  in  order 
that  they  might  be  in  daily  touch  with  them.  For 
sixteen  years  this  home  was  annually  presented  as  a 
"temporary  residence  for  the  Assistant  Minister,'5  and 
the  joy  of  its  users  was  exceeded  only  by  the  joy  of  its 
donors.  Mrs.  Satterlee's  father  was  permitted  to  give 
himself  the  pleasure  of  enlarging  the  house  and  adding  a 
stable,  and  in  1882  the  vestry  again  added  to  the  building, 
as  a  recognition  of  its  owner's  generosity.  Friendship 
such  as  grew  up  between  these  two  families  was  of  the 
sort  that  can  be  built  only  on  the  foundation  of  life  in 
Christ.  It  was  not  merely  common  interests  and  con- 
genial temperaments  that  linked  "house  to  house"  — 
a  pet  phrase  of  Mr.  Satterlee's  —  but  the  common  purpose 
of  priest  and  layman  to  deepen  and  extend  the  boundaries 
of  God's  Kingdom  among  men.  It  was  no  wonder  that 
with  such  men  as  Mr.  Irving  Grinnell,  Mr.  Henry  Mesier, 
Mr.  A.  S.  Mesier,  Mr.  S.  W.  Johnson,  Mr.  J.  Faulkner 


1875]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S   FALLS  35 

and  Mr.  W.  H.  Reese  to  uphold  him,  that  Zion  Church 
grew  rapidly.  The  parish  became  a  living  body,  with 
people  of  every  station  welded  into  one  by  that  extraordi- 
nary creative  gift  of  the  Spirit  which  was  let  loose  by 
their  leader.  The  parish  represented  the  Christian  family. 
If  there  were  differences,  they  were  reconciled;  if 
there  was  apathy  in  this  group  it  was  consumed  by  the 
zeal  of  that,  its  neighbor. 

The  Sunday  School  was  developed  on  new  and  im- 
proved lines,  and  the  infant  school,  under  Mrs.  Grinnell, 
organized.  The  English  custom  of  waits  had  been 
brought  across  the  sea,  and  every  Christmas  Eve  the 
familiar  old  Carols  rang  to  the  stars,  bringing  happy 
memories  of  the  homeland  to  those  who  had  come  far 
afield  to  seek  their  fortunes.  In  many  a  heart  Christ 
was  indeed  born  anew  as  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Nativity, 
prepared  for  with  sincere  piety  and  celebrated  with 
reverent  gladness,  came  round.  Christmas  saw  the  Yule 
log  rolled  into  place  and  set  ablaze  on  the  Satterlee 
hearth,  whence  good  will  and  merriment  radiated.  Says 
a  subsequent  rector,  the  Rev.  Prescott  Evarts: 

On  the  social  side,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the 
parish,  was  the  gathering  on  Christmas  Eve  of  the  older  scholars 
in  the  school,  and  the  church  workers  and  contributors,  and  pew- 
holders.  This  meeting  grew  out  of  the  necessities  of  the  S.  S. 
The  older  children,  who  had  grown  too  old  to  receive  presents 
from  the  tree,  were  brought  together  Christmas  Eve,  for  games 
and  amusements.  Out  of  this  beginning  after  a  few  years  there 
grew  up  the  Christmas  Eve  festival,  which  to  my  mind  has  no 
counterpart  in  any  parish  in  America.  The  details  of  the  festival 
I  need  not  repeat,  a  Christmas  play,  exceedingly  well  given, 
concluding  with  Santa  Claus  with  a  grab  bag,  for  men  and 
women,  boys  and  girls,  slight  refreshments,  and  the  closing  of 
the  evening  by  singing  an  original  Christmas  Eve  carol  to  Auld 
Lang  Sync.  But  the  real  beauty  of  all  was,  that  practically 
everyone  in  the  parish,  men  and  women,  wanted  to  come,  and 
came,  with  the  older  boys  and  girls.  The  families  from  the 
country  places  on  the  river,  the  managers  and  officers  of  the 
factory,  and  the  skilled  mechanics  and  laborers,  with  their  fami- 


36  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1867 

lies,  all  really  mingled  with  one  another  in  a  happy  Christmas 
spirit,  knew  one  another  —  and  when  the  evening  closed  with 
Auld  Lang  Syne,  and  the  Doxology,  they  separated  to  their 
homes,  to  meet  again  the  next  morning  in  a  crowded  church  at 
half  past  six  to  sing  the  Christmas  carols.  This  feature  of  the 
social  side  of  the  parish  was  distinctive;  and  the  spirit  of  the 
whole  occasion  was  characteristic  of  Dr.  Satterlee' s  fine  enthu- 
siasm and  ideals.  He  made  it  go,  —  people  really  enjoyed  it. 
They  looked  forward  to  it  —  he  welded  together  in  genuine 
bonds  of  Christian  fellowship,  and  mutual  respect:,  the  very 
diverse  elements  in  the  parish,  and  beneath  it  all  was  the 
deep  religious  feeling,  that  this  Christmas  Eve  festival  was  a 
symbol  of  the  Christian  way  human  beings  ought  to  deal  with 
each  other. 

As  the  year  1868  drew  to  its  close,  it  proved  necessary 
to  enlarge  the  church.  Accordingly  on  December  27, 
the  Feast  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  Evensong  ascended 
to  God  for  the  last  time  in  the  old  building  before  en- 
largement. Services  for  more  than  six  months  were  held 
in  the  basement  of  the  Sunday  School.  The  arrangement 
of  the  original  building  was  so  curious  that  a  sketch  of  it 
may  prove  of  interest.  A  new  era  of  Church  life  began 
with  the  enlarged  and  beautified  building  which  was 
re-opened  for  worship  on  July  18,  Bishop  Horatio  Potter 
preaching  the  sermon.  Thirty  additional  pews,  a  new 
choir  and  stalls,  stained-glass  windows  in  memory  of 
Judge  Matthew  Mesier,  and  a  new  bell  inaugurated  the 
new  era.  A  volunteer  choir  of  twenty-five  members, 
men  and  women,  was  organized  by  Mrs.  Satterlee,  and 
rehearsed  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  W.  Henry  Reese, 
uncle  of  the  present  Bishop  Coadjutor  of  Southern  Ohio. 
This  was  planned  and  carried  out  with  all  the  joy  of  a 
secret  service,  to  be  known  by  the  clergy  only  when  it 
was  an  accomplished  fact.  On  Christmas  Day  the  choir 
took  their  places  in  the  stalls.  So  well  was  the  secret 
kept  that  it  came  as  a  complete  surprise  to  Mr.  Satterlee. 
Never  was  Jackson's  Te  Deum  sung  by  more  reverent 
lips.     The   incident   of  the   choir,   trifling   in   itself,    rises 


i875]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S  FALLS  37 

from  those  past  days  as  a  symbol  and  illustration  of  the 
beautiful  parochial  life  that  prevailed.  A  fine  spirit  was 
breathed   into   every   movement   of  parish  activity.     Mr. 

Elevation  Erecled  1836 


Ground  Plan 


ELEVATION     OF    THE    OLD    CHANCEL     PULPIT    REREDOS    OF    ZION 
CHURCH,    WAPPINGER'S    FALLS 

Erected,  1836;  taken  down,  1854 


Evarts,  writing  nearly  two  decades  after  his  own  ministry 
at  Zion  Church  had  closed,  says  that  Mr.  Satterlee 
"built  up  a  remarkable  parish,  and  parish  life,  on  such 
impersonal  and  true  foundations,  that  it  has  continued 
for    more    than    30    years     after    he    left,    what    it    was 


38  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1867 

before  he  left  —  one  of  the  most  ideal  parishes  in  the 
American  Church. " 

Even  those  whose  knowledge  of  the  annals  of  this  quiet 
parish  is  confined  to  what  they  have  learned  from  the 
lips  of  the  actual  participants  in  its  history,  catch  a 
fragrance  and  soft  music  which  are  born  of  no  other 
conditions  than  such  as  prevailed  in  Zion  Church.  If  in 
this  memoir  seemingly  minor  details  are  emphasized  and 
multiplied  in  the  record  of  Mr.  Satterlee's  life  and  service 
in  Wappinger's  Falls,  it  is  because  the  Kingdom  of  God 
reigned  with  power  in  those  days,  in  this  as  well  as  many 
another  such  country  parish.  Though  Zion  Church  had 
received  much  from  the  immediate  influence  of  English 
immigrants,  and  so  reproduced  in  a  new  setting  some  of 
the  best  features  of  the  rural  Church  life  of  the  home- 
land, the  American  country  parish  of  that  day  had  a 
character  and  standing  all  its  own.  Zion  Church  is  both 
singular  and  representative.  Singular  in  that  it  rose  to 
more  than  ordinary  spiritual  stature,  and  representative 
in  that  all  through  the  country  were  similar  spheres  of 
God's  working  which,  if  not,  each  one,  a  city  set  on  a  hill, 
were,  at  any  rate,  as  a  little  leaven  buried  in  a  measure 
of  meal.  They  deserve  a  monument  in  history,  so  that 
men  looking  back  at  them  will  always  be  able  to  say  — 
"Surely  God  was  in  these  times  and  lowly  places !" 
The  penitents  that  were  won,  the  saints  that  were  made, 
the  joy  bells  that  were  set  pealing  in  human  hearts,  by 
the  unassuming  service  of  the  country  pastor  who  never 
courted,  or  even  was  accorded,  public  applause,  and  who 
in  a  long,  unvaried  life  became  so  much  a  part  of  his 
community  that  he  could  leave,  if  he  left  at  all,  only 
under  divine  compulsion,  tell  of  a  phase  of  parochial  life 
in  the  history  of  our  Church  which  will  gain  and  not  lose 
glory  with  the  ages. 

Mr.  Satterlee  began,  as  he  continued,  his  ministry  with 
single-mindedness.  Seldom  do  we  find  men  less  swayed 
by  ambition  for  advancement,  perhaps  the  subtlest 
temptation  of  the  clergy.     A  masterful  man,  as  he  was, 


1875]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S   FALLS  39 

must  have  felt  the  tug  to  move  out  into  a  larger  sphere. 
But  devotion  to  his  day's  task  held  him  firm. 

His  eyes  were  not  given  to  wandering  afield.  They 
were  on  his  immediate  duty,  which  for  him  was  at  the 
time  the  only  thing  in  the  world  worth  doing.  He  felt 
his  growing  powers,  but  he  found  in  his  environment  full 
opportunity  to  employ  them.  He  seldom  preached  out 
of  his  own  parish.  Why  should  he?  He  was  not  looking 
for  preaching  fame,  and  his  own  flock  brought  out  the 
best  that  was  in  him  of  spiritual  thought  and  utterance. 
An  isolated  message  here  and  there  from  a  semi-stranger 
could  not  avail  much.  Line  upon  line,  precept  upon 
precept,  here  a  little,  there  a  little,  was  his  method.  He 
had  gifts  of  mind  and  presence  and  voice  that  could  have 
easily  made  him  a  popular  preacher.  To  him,  preaching 
was  the  whole  utterance  of  a  dedicated  and  commissioned 
life.  The  pulpit  was  but  one  of  many  opportunities  for 
witnessing  to  Christ,  and  called  for  only  proportionate 
attention  and  preparation.  He  was  never,  even  at  his 
best,  a  polished  speaker  —  it  is  said  that  as  a  boy  he  had 
to  conquer  a  slight  impediment  in  speech  —  but  he  was 
always  interesting  and  controlled  the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  his  hearers,  even  when  he  stumbled  in  utterance 
and  his  thought  failed  to  find  intelligible  or  adequate 
expression.  Private  life,  social  intercourse,  pastoral  min- 
istrations, the  class  room  and  Sunday  School,  and  most 
of  all  the  rendering  of  the  service  in  public  worship  were 
to  him,  each  one,  as  it  were,  a  pulpit  opportunity.  The 
consequence  was  that  his  actual  sermonizing  was  so  con- 
sistent a  part  of  his  whole  life  that  it  always  rang  true, 
and  at  its  best  had  a  penetrative  power  which  searched 
out  and  found  the  best  and  noblest  in  his  hearers. 

No  one  could  listen  to  him  read  the  service  without 
instinctively  following  the  direction  of  his  thoughts  and 
voice.  They  were  Godward.  His  worship  was  intense. 
His  eyes  were  flung  full  in  the  face  of  God  and  his  words 
followed  heavenward.  For  this  reason  when  he  took,  for 
instance,  the  Baptismal  service,  all  its  beauty  and  power 


4o  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1867 

came  out,  not  because  he  was  aiming  to  impress  the  by- 
standers, but  because  he  was  intent  upon  making  a  fitting 
offering  to  God.  The  writer  of  this  memoir  recalls  how 
the  Te  Deum  reverberated  from  the  lips  of  the  Bishop, 
as  he  had  then  become,  in  his  oratory  at  his  daily  morning 
worship.  "He  used  to  say  that  the  daily  recital  of  the 
Te  Deum  was  real  spiritual  sustenance,  which  he  craved 
as  his  appetite  craved  food."1  Manner  and  voice  shamed 
you  into  recollectedness  and  helped  to  draw  you  within  the 
gates  of  heaven's  choir.  He  taught  men  to  worship  by 
his  unaffected  habit  of  worshipping  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

One  can  never  think  of  Mr.  Satterlee's  life  of  worship 
being  anything  to  him  but  a  refreshment  and  a  joy.  In 
an  age  that  would  sacrifice  anything  for  pleasure,  his 
figure  stands  out  as  declaring  that  in  worship  is  the 
fulness  of  joy.  One  of  England's  most  powerful  spiritual 
leaders  during  his  life  at  Westminster  Abbey  as  a  Canon, 
was  heard  to  remark  of  the  daily  services  from  which  he 
never  absented  himself  except  for  urgent  cause:  —  "They 
are  my  salvation.'3  It  was  equally  so  of  Mr.  Satterlee. 
Worship  was  the  mainspring  and  secret  of  his  activities. 

Early  in  his  career  he  began  to  make  use  of  his  organ- 
izing gifts.  He  was  a  better  promoter  of  organization 
than  an  organizer,  judged  by  the  standards  of  a  genera- 
tion that  has  a  painfully  mechanical  conception  of 
efficiency.  He  was  quick  to  see  what  ought  to  be  done, 
and  always,  according  to  his  philosophy,  the  necessary 
was  the  possible,  and  duty  allowed  of  no  dalliance  or 
paltering.  But  he  saw  things  in  the  large,  and  was  by 
temperament  apt  to  ignore  for  the  moment  the  full 
weight  of  opposing  forces  —  not  that  he  would  have 
been  daunted  had  he  counted  beforehand  every  thorn 
that  was  destined  to  pierce  him.  Just  before  General 
Gordon  died  he  sent  this  word  to  the  people  of  Khar- 
toum: "Tell  them  that  when  God  made  Gordon,  He 
made   him  without   fear."2     When   God    made   Satterlee 

1  In  Memoriam,  by  the  Rev.  P.  M.  Rhinelander,  p.  8. 

2  See  Cromer's  Modern  Egypt,  Vol.  ii,  p.  10. 


1875]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S   FALLS  41 

He  made  him,  too,  without  fear.  His  natural  strength, 
reinforced  by  the  sure  knowledge  that  God  was  on  his 
side,  gave  him  that  directness  of  attack  and  sense  of 
security  that  commanded  the  attention  and  roused  the 
wonder  of  even  those  who  might  not  be  drawn  to  him. 
If  there  was  a  work  to  be  done  he  was  up  and  at  it, 
counting  the  cost  oftentimes  as  he  walked,  rather  than 
sitting  down  and  figuring  it  out  beforehand.  And  yet  as 
various  memoranda  show,  he  learned,  in  later  life  espe- 
cially, to  reckon  with  every  consideration  and  argument, 
pro  and  con,  in  an  exhaustive  way.  In  connection  with 
such  widely  differing  questions  as  the  selection  of  an 
architect  for  the  National  Cathedral,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  negro  bishops,  there  are  papers  in  his  own  hand- 
writing in  which  the  pros  and  cons  are  exhaustively 
stated  with  as  careful  heed  to  accuracy  and  fairness  as 
if  they  had  been  the  credit  and  debit  pages  of  a  ledger. 
"He  loved  to  undertake  and  master  difficult  things,  and 
in  easy  things  he  found  it  hard  to  interest  himself. 
Advising  one  of  his  younger  clergy  a  short  time  before 
he  was  called  away,  he  said  that  the  business  end  of  his 
office  was  always  irksome  and  difficult  to  him  when  he 
entered  the  ministry,  but  he  made  it  his  duty,  and  it  ulti- 
mately became  his  pride,  to  attend  to  the  routine  side  of 
his  work  with  the  utmost  attention  to  detail  and  system."1 
In  1873  the  whole  work  of  Zion  Parish  was  re-organ- 
ized and  distributed  into  departments,  each  under  one 
head  who  was  responsible  to  the  Rector  for  work 
done  therein.  There  were  four  Departments  —  the 
Infant  School  under  Mrs.  A.  S.  Mesier,  succeeded  by  Mrs. 
Irving  Grinnell;  the  Volunteer  Choir  under  Mr.  W.  H. 
Reese  (these  two  departments  had  already  been  in 
operation);  Aid  and  Employment  Department,  meeting 
weekly  under  Mrs.  Irving  Grinnell;  and  the  Weekly 
Night  School  under  Mr.  T.  R.  Wetmore.  The  men's 
Bible  Class  under  Mr.  Irving  Grinnell  which  met  every 
Sunday  morning  was  organized  in  1874,  and  gave  expres- 

1  The  Foundation  Stone  Book,  p.  6. 


42  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1867 

sion  to  its  missionary  spirit  by  providing  a  scholarship 
for  the  education  of  a  Sioux  Indian  at  Hampton  Insti- 
tute, Va.  Two  hundred  men  were  enrolled,  among 
them  the  present  sexton  of  the  Church,  John  Heald, 
who  never  absented  himself  a  single  time  for  twenty-two 
years,  a  remarkable  instance  of  interest  and  stability. 

Seven  years  had  elapsed  since  Churchill's  birth  brought 
joy  to  the  Satterlee  household.  Now  the  cup  of  parental 
happiness  was  filled  to  the  brim  by  the  gift  from  God  of 
a  girl  baby,  Constance,  who  grew  into  her  father's  life 
with  that  mysterious  understanding  of  him,  and  he  of 
her,  that  is  more  common  between  father  and  daughter, 
or  between  mother  and  son,  than  between  the  converse 
combination.  In  his  later  life  especially  he  leaned 
much  on  her,  and  she  imparted  to  him  all  the  vitality 
that  belonged  to  her  youth  and  strength.  The  comrade- 
ship, begun  in  babyhood,  ripened  into  a  unity  so  sacred 
and  deep  that  death  seemed  powerless  in  its  presence. 

All  the  while  a  similar  bond  was  uniting  Churchill 
and  his  mother.  Churchill's  biography  says:  "The 
bond  of  union  existing  between  mother  and  son  was 
unusually  close  and  tender.  If  the  affection  she  felt 
for  him  constituted  the  main  interest  of  her  life,  and 
found  expression  always  in  the  most  earnest  solicitude 
for  his  comfort  and  well-being,  the  response  he  made 
was  no  less  sincere  and  sympathetic.  If  his  companion- 
ship was  her  chief  delight,  he  never  failed  to  pay  her 
the  tribute  of  his  perfect  confidence.  From  his  boyhood 
days  all  through  the  years  of  his  ministry,  he  made  her 
acquainted  with  all  his  plans  and  projects.  He  was  never 
satisfied  unless  she  shared  his  pleasures,  and  when  they 
were  separated  correspondence  between  them  was  fre- 
quent and  regular.  She  was  his  model  for  a  clergy- 
man's wife  in  her  tact  and  sympathy  and  in  the  generous 
hospitality  she  extended  to  her  husband's  parishioners, 
making  even  the  humblest  feel  that  a  cordial  welcome 
awaited  him  at  the  rectory."1 

1  A  Fisher  of  Men,  by  the  Rev.  Hamilton  Schuyler,  pp.  31,  32. 


i8753        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S  FALLS  43 

Zion  Church  became  more  and  more  a  shrine  of  mem- 
ories. This  same  year  an  eagle  lectern  was  presented 
on  Easter  Day  by  the  Satterlee  family  to  commemorate 
Jane  Anna  and  Graham  Satterlee,  the  mother  and  brother 
of  Henry.  A  pulpit  in  memory  of  their  parents  was  the 
gift  of  Marie  P.  and  Alice  M.  Wetmore.  The  building 
was  further  developed  by  the  addition  of  a  gallery  at 
the  west  end  contributed  by  Mr.  Grinnell.  The  Church 
Decoration  Department  was  organized,  and,  best  of  all, 
the  dream  of  Mr.  Satterlee  was  materialized  of  a  church 
home  for  the  factory  girls.  "It  is  on  one  of  the  leading 
avenues  of  the  village,  in  a  healthful  and  attractive 
position,  and  is  thoroughly  furnished  with  every  article 
of  convenience.  It  is  open  to  any  respectable  girl,  with 
no  other  restraints  than  those  of  every  orderly  and  well 
conducted  household. "     It  was  known  as  "The  Home/1 

The  following  year,  1875,  Mr.  Satterlee's  valuable 
apprenticeship  of  ten  years  came  to  an  end.  On  August 
20  the  Rev.  Dr.  Andrews  entered  into  rest  in  his  nine- 
tieth year.  Since  the  date  of  an  injury,  May  17,  1872, 
which  incapacitated  him  he  had  never  left  his  room.1 
His  last  sermon  (on  Temperance)  in  his  Church  had  been 
on  the  twenty-eighth  of  April,  1872,  and  his  last  public 
act  was  to  celebrate  Holy  Communion  for  his  people  a 
week  later.  His  final  illness  lasted  but  a  few  hours. 
His  long  pastorate  of  forty-two  years,  his  pronounced 
character,  and  his  paternal  attitude  toward  his  people 
made  him  a  feature  of  the  community  and  a  landmark 
in  history.  His  early  years  touched  Revolutionary  days 
and  the  beginning  of  our  nation  in  its  independent 
career.  During  his  long  life  he  earned  and  kept  the 
respect  and  affection  of  his  fellows.  Though  Mr.  Satter- 
lee   had    been    practically    the    Rector   of   the    parish    for 

1  The  preacher  of  Dr.  Andrews'  Memorial  Sermon  (the  Rev.  Solomon  G. 
Hitchcock)  adds  the  following  curious  footnote  to  a  passage  referring  to  the 
"disablement  and  suffering"  of  the  deceased:  "His  death  was  hastened  by  in- 
juries received  May  17,  1872,  not  from  the  kick  of  his  horse,  but  of  one  who, 
Jethunin  like  (Deut.  xxxii,  15),  had  for  toward  a  score  of  years,  been  a  favorite 
domestic,  and  treated  with  kindness  almost  parental!" 


44  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1867 

three  years,  he  would  not  hear  of  any  change  in  his 
standing,  and  refused  to  allow  his  aged  friend  to  be 
awarded  the  somewhat  equivocal  honor  attached  to  the 
euphonious    and    peculiarly    American    title   of    "redtor 

emeritus. " 

Dr.  Andrews  had  that  hardest  of  all  disciplines  for 
a  man  of  adtive  habits  and  matured  experience  to  accept 
without  murmur,  the  discipline  of  failing  powers  and 
eventually  prolonged  helplessness.  It  was  largely  be- 
cause he  had  an  assistant  of  the  type  of  Henry  Satterlee 
that  he  met  his  lot  with  fortitude  and  retained  a  living 
interest  to  the  last  in  the  activities  and  plans  of  the 
one  thing  to  which  he  was  wedded,  his  parish.  *  Faith- 
ful to  the  end  of  a  long  day  of  service,"  may  be  in- 
scribed over  his  remains.  If  there  are  disadvantages 
in  long  pastorates,  there  are  more  than  compensating 
advantages.  Stability,  ability  to  stay,  will  never  be 
less  than  a  basic  virtue  preaching  with  eloquence  long 
after  the  familiar  figure  has  faded  into  the  background 
of  history.  If  Dr.  Andrews'  tenacity  of  office  was  ex- 
cessive, Mr.  Satterlee's  suppression  of  the  pride  of  place 
mitigated  it,  so  that  no  interests  were  thereby  injured. 
The  assistant  even  in  his  own  thoughts  did  not  pretend 
to  be  redtor.  His  complete  frankness  enabled  him 
always  with  happiness  and  tadt  to  bring  Dr.  Andrews 
the  whole  story.  It  is  an  exquisitely  significant  fadt 
that  during  the  ten  years  of  their  relationship  there  is 
on  record  but  one  serious  misunderstanding,  and  that 
was  for  a  moment  only.  It  was  in  connection  with  a 
baptism.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Satterlee  realized  that  there 
was  a  cloud  upon  the  horizon  he  dissipated  it  before  it 
had  grown  to  be  the  size  of  a  man's  hand.  It  could 
not  fail  that  this  clear-sighted,  ardent,  vigorous  young 
man  should  be  tried  frequently  in  his  relationship  with 
the  conservative  man  of  an  older  generation,  or  that  he 
should  sometimes  slip.  But  nothing  could  have  been 
better  for  him  than  that  he  should  have  had  the  very 
experience    through   which    he    had    to    pass.     It    quelled 


1875]        MINISTRY  AT  WAPPINGER'S  FALLS  45 

the  too  rapid  rush  of  youth's  red  blood,  it  laid  a  restrain- 
ing hand  on  his  perfectly  natural  aspiration  toward 
independence,  and  most  of  all,  it  gave  him  fresh  oppor- 
tunity to  keep  his  filial  instincts  alive  and  in  sympathetic 
operation.  When  at  last  he  moved  into  the  position 
so  long  held  by  his  predecessor  he  did  so  not  as  into  an 
ambition  achieved,  but  rather  as  into  the  next  and  normal 
stage  of  a  progress  ordered  by  God,  while  behind  him 
stretched  a  duty  well  done.  He  learned  to  command 
by  first  learning  to  obey.  And  as  for  old  age  that  has 
done  its  work,  what  is  better  for  it  than  to  learn  in 
lowly  patience  and  wistful  looking  towards  that  close 
of  evening  time,  when  the  last  shadows  are  the  pre- 
cursor of  eternal  day,  the  meaning  of  those  brave  and 
immortal  words  —  "He  must  increase  but  I  must  de- 
crease"? Many  a  heroic  man,  a  man  even  of  the  stature 
of  Phillips  Brooks,  has  flinched  at  the  thought  of  failing 
powers.  It  is  therefore  a  triumph  indeed  when  history 
can  record,  as  here,  a  good  battle  fought  and  won  over 
the  insidious  and  persistent  temptations  incident  to 
years  of  growing  feebleness  of  body  following  on  a  life 
of  activity. 

This  chapter  of  the  annals  of  Zion  Church  closes  with 
great  credit  to  the  aged  Rector  and  his  young  assistant. 


CHAPTER   IV 

SETTING  LINE  AND  PLUMMET 

Reclor  of  Zion  Church 
1875-1882 

This  noble  ensample  to  his  sheepe  he  yaf 
The  first  he  wroghte  and  afterward  he  taughte. 

CHAUCER 

IN  September  Mr.  Satterlee  was  unanimously  elected 
Rector  of  Zion  Church.  He  was  now  thirty-two 
years  of  age  and  filled  with  the  sparkle  and  elasticity 
of  a  healthy  mind  and  soul  set  in  a  healthy  body.  His 
family  life  was  a  fountain  of  happiness  to  himself  and 
his  friends.  His  childlike  nature  found  increasing  joy 
in  companionship  with  his  children.  He  kept  always 
the  heart  of  a  boy  and  was  young  with  the  young, 
sharing  in  their  sports  and  childish  enthusiasms.  He 
was  always  ready  for  a  romp,  and,  when  the  world  was 
white  with  snow,  he  would  coast  with  the  merriest. 

Mrs.  Satterlee's  share  in  her  husband's  life  and  labor 
is  best  brought  out  by  words  written  a  few  weeks  after 
his  death:  "His  wife's  sympathy  in  all  his  work  both  in 
its  smaller  and  larger  spheres,  her  quick  intelligence  and 
unusually  liberal  and  thorough  education,  her  sure 
ethical  estimates  of  men  and  women,  her  never-failing 
help  in  all  her  husband's  work,  attending  to  his  private 
affairs,  and,  as  his  duties  broadened  out,  her  ceaseless 
and  unwavering  labors  relieving  him  of  much  of  the 
*  table  serving'  of  a  rector's  and  a  bishop's  life,  her  cordial 
and  ever  ready  hospitality  to  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men,  her  tact  and  insight,  and  above  all  her  devo- 
tion  to    Christ    and    His   Church,   were    a   help    such    as 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND   PLUMMET  47 

bless   but    few    public   men    in   the    same   measure    and 

>>  1 
scope.    l 

The  Satterlee  family  had  the  clannish  temper.  Fond 
of  one  another's  society,  they  followed  the  movements 
of  the  life  of  each  member  with  interest.  When  Henry 
became  a  communicant  of  the  Church  he  began  a  sort 
of  St.  Andrew's  Brotherhood  work  among  his  own 
brothers.  The  following  letter  to  his  brother  Arthur 
which  belongs  to  this  period  is  one  of  the  few  that  have 
been   preserved: 

NEW   HAMBURGH,    SEPT.    23RD,    1 875. 

Dear  Arthur:  I  am  extremely  busy  this  week  and  can  do  no 
more  than  drop  you  a  line  in  answer  to  your  letter.  Sometime 
I  will  have  a  talk  with  you  about  the  army  life. 

I  want  to  ask  you  which  church  you  prefer  attending,  St. 
George's  (the  Revd.  Mr.  Applegate)  or  St.  Paul's  (the  Revd. 
Mr.  Emery)?  Please  let  me  know  which  you  attend  and  I  will 
give  you  a  letter  to  the  clergyman.  Don't  you  think  that  you 
had  also  better  attend  the  Episcopal  Sunday  School  instead  of 
the  Presbyterian?  You  have  a  chance  to  make  a  change  now 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  if  you  wish  to  do  so.  Can  you  not 
run  up  and  spend  some  Sunday  with  us,  we  would  be  delighted 

to  have  you  do  so. 

Your  affectionate  brother 

HENRY    Y.    SATTERLEE. 

His  new  position  as  redlor  could  hardly  be  said  to 
have  increased  his  responsibilities,  for  he  had  been  doing 
the  work  of  rector  already  for  three  years,  but  it  did 
offer  him  a  freedom  which  he  could  not  have  as  an 
assistant  minister.  He  was  now  at  liberty  to  devise 
and  work  out  his  plans  for  the  parish,  without  reference 
to  the  ideas  of  another  mind  to  which  his  loyalty  owed 
and  paid  deference.  He  had  the  whole  community 
with  him.  Even  those  who  were  not  of  his  flock  watched 
his  progress  with  interest  and  his  achievements  with 
satisfaction.  He  was  recognized  by  all  to  be  a  force  in 
the  town,   and   men  were  glad  to  claim  him  as  a  neigh- 

1  The  Foundation  Stont  Book,  p.  5. 


48  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1875 

bor  and  fellow-citizen.  It  was  not  that  he  was  adtive 
in  municipal  affairs,  or  that  he  united  in  federative 
movements  of  the  other  churches  of  the  place.  Rather 
was  the  explanation  of  his  popularity  to  be  found  in 
the  spiritual  and  constructive  temper  in  which  he  did 
his  work.  He  was  moving  up  from  apprenticeship  to 
be  a  master  builder,  and  he  made  his  convictions  mani- 
fest to  all  men  by  giving  them  positive  form. 

His    character    was    full    of    kindness    and    sympathy, 
whatever  momentary  brusquerie  or  impatience,  especially 
noticeable  in  later    life,   seemed  to  say  to   the  contrary. 
Complete   absorption  in   a   matter  of  interest   sometimes 
contributed  to  an  apparent  lapse  from  courtesy.     Sensi- 
tive himself,  as  all  truly  big  natures  are,  he  shrank  from 
inflidting    pain    upon    others.     This    did    not    mean    that 
when  occasion  demanded  he  could  not  be  severe.     There 
is  nothing  more    awe-inspiring  than  the  deliberate,  heal- 
ing  austerity,   or  the   flame  of  righteous   indignation,   of 
a  kindly  and  loving  nature.     Early  in  his  rectorship  he 
forbade    Holy    Communion    to    a    man    who    had    been 
living    in    immoral    relations    with    his    housekeeper.     He 
spoke    of    it    from    the    pulpit    without    mincing    terms. 
The  necessity  was  a  great  pain  to  him,  and  no  one  can 
measure  just  what  it  did  cost  him.     It  had   a  salutary 
effedt  on  the  community.     Even  the  family  of  the  offender 
saw  the  justice  of  what  was  done  and  held  no  resentment, 
but  continued   as   active   parishioners.     Mr.    Evarts   says 
in  this   connection:    "He   made   the   Church,   in   its   dis- 
ciplinary character,  and  as  insisting  upon  a  moral  stand- 
ard, a  real  force  in  the  community  —  and  yet  he  did  not, 
in  the  long  run,  alienate  even  the  most  grievous  offenders. 
They   accepted   his  words   and   his   decisions   as   inspired 
by  an  honest,  loving  and  righteous  motive.'5 

He  never  hesitated  to  rebuke  when  he  felt  it  to  be 
a  duty.  Shortly  before  his  death  he  considered  that 
an  affront  to  the  hospitality  of  his  house  had  been  offered 
by  a  dear  friend.  He  immediately  and  sharply  expressed 
his  mind,  though  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  not  so  much 


• 


ZION     CHURCH,     WAPPINGERS     FALLS 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND  PLUMMET  49 

as  a  ripple  upon  the  surface  of  friendship  when  the  inci- 
dent was  closed,  and  it  was  closed  as  quickly  as  it  was 
opened.  He  believed  in  and  acted  out  the  wisdom  of 
Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach:  "Admonish  a  friend,  it  may  be 
he  hath  not  done  it:  and  if  he  hath  done  it,  that  he 
do  it  no  more.  Admonish  thy  friend,  it  may  be  he  hath 
not  said  it;  and  if  he  have,  that  he  speak  it  not  again. 
Admonish  a  friend:   for  many  times  it  is  a  slander.,,1 

He  would  not  hesitate  to  "have  it  out'  with  his 
friend,  or  to  state  bald  and  disagreeable  truths  to  those 
who  to  their  undoing  were  wilfully  blind  to  fact.  He 
had 

Hatred  of  sin,  but  not  the  less 

A  heart  of  pitying  tenderness 

And  charity,  that,  suffering  long, 

Shames  the  wrong  doer  from  his  wrong. 

Over-organization  is  an  enemy  to  spiritual  progress, 
and  when  we  learn  that  some  twenty-eight  organizations 
were  brought  into  play  in  this  village  parish  by  Mr. 
Satterlee  during  his  pastorate  it  looks,  at  first  blush,  as 
though  he  may  have  overstepped  the  mark.  But  he 
never  started  a  society  or  organized  a  department  without 
reason.  In  those  days  general  societies  within  the  Church 
were  few,  and  the  institutional  Church  did  not  exist 
for  the  neophyte  to  imitate  in  its  manifold  and  complex 
organizations.  Whether  it  was  the  women's  Bible  Class 
or  the  Rector's  Aid  Department  for  assisting  in  visiting 
the  sick  and  in  other  kindred  branches  of  parish  work, 
he  had  in  mind  the  spiritual  upbuilding  of  his  people. 
He  was  a  "character  builder,"  and  had  the  gift,  so  to 
speak,  of  employing  people  into  belief  and  higher  life. 
He  made  work  a  means  of  revelation  and  salvation. 
His  organizations  were  all  a  true  expression  of,  and  aid 
to,  this  end.  Moreover  he  counted  his  parishioners  to 
be  his  fellow-laborers,  and  tried  to  rouse  among  them 
a  sense  of  responsibility  for  personal  service.     He  loved 

1  Ecclus.y  xxxvii,  13-15. 


5o  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1875 

the  word  co-operation  and  the  idea  behind  it.  No  one 
but  a  man  of  delicate  sympathies  would  have  thought 
of  organizing  the  Funeral  Choir,  as  it  was  rather  lugu- 
briously called.  "The  object  of  the  choir  was  to  sing 
at  all  funerals  of  poor  and  rich  alike,  and  thereby  to 
assist  the  Rector  in  making  the  service  as  sweet  and 
comforting   as   possible." 

At  the  beginning  of  his  rectorate  the  first  Year  Book 
of  the  Parish  was  published  and  distributed.  The  com- 
municants' roll  was  now  mounting  up.  Ten  years  before, 
forty  had  gathered  to  receive  their  Christmas  communion. 
On  Christmas  Day,  1875,  when  an  altar,  reredos,  and 
communion  rail  were  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Dr. 
Andrews,  there  were  one  hundred  and  forty-four.  The 
Sunday  School  at  this  time  numbered  eight  hundred 
children.  A  Sunday  School  and  sewing  school  were  also 
started  in  New  Hamburgh  in  1879,  and  plans  were  made 
for  holding  regular  services  there.  This  has  grown  into 
a  permanent  work.  There  is  now  a  beautiful  chapel 
in  New  Hamburgh  under  the  lay  supervision  of  Mr. 
W.  Henry  Reese,  long  a  warden  of  Zion  Church.  Mr. 
Satterlee  was  his  own  Sunday  School  superintendent. 
He  selected  for  teachers  the  best  of  the  good  material 
available.  At  a  time  when  graded  schools  and  carefully 
systematized  lessons  were  not  known,  he  provided  a 
progressive  course  of  instruction  and  built  up  a  Sunday 
School  unique  in  numbers  and  intelligence  among  country 
parishes.  His  first  book,  Christ  and  His  Church,  was 
a  book  of  instruction  for  Sunday  Schools  which  won 
quite  an  extended  use.  He  did  not  publish  it  until 
it  had  had  three  years'  test  in  his  own  parish.1 

Mr.  Satterlee  was  not  so  absorbed  in  local  affairs, 
the  organizing  of  the  parish,  the  beautifying  and  equip- 
ment of  the  church,  the  demands  of  immediate  needs, 
as  to  be  smothered  by  parochialism,  or  to  ignore  the 
claims  of  the  Church's  world-wide  mission,  although 
the   Church   herself  had   hardly  begun  to  gird   her  loins 

1  Published  in  1876. 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND  PLUMMET  51 

for  extensive  conquests  abroad.  The  western  part  of 
our  own  country  was  just  fairly  started  on  its  amazing 
career  of  progress,  and  seemed  to  bound  for  the  moment 
the  extent  of  our  missionary  endeavor.  We  had  mis- 
sions in  China  and  Japan,  then  far  more  distant  and 
dim  than  now  when  the  ends  of  the  earth  have 
flowed  together.  But  there  was  no  very  wide  or 
general  enthusiasm  for  missions  when  Mr.  Satterlee 
organized  the  Missionary  Department  of  Zion  Church 
"to  promote  interest  in  the  Foreign  and  Domestic  Mis- 
sionary work  of  the  Church,  and  particularly  to  assist 
the  Woman's  Auxiliary  in  sending  boxes  of  clothing, 
etc.,  when  needed."  Missionary  spirit  found  vent 
locally  in  the  mission  at  New  Hamburgh. 

Through  all  these  years  Mr.  Satterlee  had  had  no 
real  holiday.  In  the  summer  of  1880  he  and  his  family 
went  abroad  not  to  return  for  fourteen  months.  If 
there  was  one  passion  which  possessed  Mr.  Satterlee, 
it  was  the  passion  for  travel.  He  was  fond  of  nature  and 
scenery,  and  would  sit  by  the  hour  looking  at  the  moun- 
tains, which  both  challenged  and  inspired  him.  He 
was  observant,  noticing  the  play  of  colors  and  shadows 
through  the  grass.  Architecture  appealed  to  him  above 
other  forms  of  art,  and  his  natural  bent  in  this  direction 
was  cultivated  until  he  became  technically  informed 
beyond  the  stage  of  a  mere  amateur.  A  trip  abroad 
meant  to  him  a  postgraduate  course.  He  went  not 
as  a  sightseer  but  as  a  learner,  and  on  this  occasion  he 
planned  to  see  and  know  not  only  things  and  "the 
sights"    but    also    and    chiefly    the    people. 

This  was  the  year  of  the  Passion  Play  at  Oberam- 
mergau  which  was  one  of  the  principal  goals  of  the 
journey.  Its  effect  upon  Mr.  Satterlee  was  to  give  to 
his  religious  sense  a  new  and  vivid  impression  of  the 
Passion  and  Death  of  our  Lord.  It  was  a  quickening  of 
faith,  a  carrying  of  the  past  into  the  present  and  the 
present  into  the  past.  His  love  of  nature,  his  appre- 
ciation  of  art,    and    his   reverence   for   history   made   him 


52  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1875 

a  susceptible  subject  to  the  unique  appeal  of  the  pious, 
blameless  peasants,  acting  out  in  religious  drama  the 
vow  of  their  forefathers,  in  the  seclusion  and  loveliness 
of  the  little  village  embraced  by  the  Bavarian  hills. 
Ten  and  then  twenty  years  later,  when  the  cycle  was 
complete  for  a  repetition  of  the  Passion  Play,  Mr.  Sat- 
terlee  and  his  family  were  again  among  those  who  shared 
in  its  highest  and  most  sacred  features. 

Mr.  Satterlee,  while  in  Milan,  immediately  after 
leaving  Oberammergau,  wrote  his  estimate  of  the  Play, 
its  actors  and  its  setting.  Perhaps  it  was  his  ingrained 
prejudice  against  Roman  Catholicism  which  twinged  his 
own  conscience,  and  led  him  to  read  in  the  faces  of 
Protestants  in  the  theatre  that  "the  prevalent  feeling 
with  Protestants  is  evidently  a  struggling  with  unspoken, 
conscientious  scruples  as  to  whether  or  not  they  are 
doing  right  in  being  where  they  are"!  His  description 
of  the  approach  to  Oberammergau  and  his  explanation 
of  the  unique  place  held   by  the  Play  are  interesting:  — 

The  modern  pilgrimage  to  Oberammergau  differs  in  almost 
every  respect  from  that  of  byegone  centuries.  Yet  with  all  the 
aid  of  railways,  steamboats  and  cushioned  carriages  and  with 
all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  our  modern  civilisation,  it  may 
well  be  questioned  whether  the  nineteenth  century  pilgrim,  with 
a  time-table  in  every  pocket,  a  crowd  of  railway  and  hotel  por- 
ters impeding  every  step,  and  a  pile  of  trunks  and  valises  and 
shawl  straps,  demanding  more  care  than  a  family  of  children, 
possesses  any  advantages  over  the  pilgrim  of  yore,  who  with 
staff  in  hand  and  no  thought  of  time  or  tide,  of  crowded  trains 
or  departing  steamboats,  began  his  free  pedestrian  tour  toward 
the  Great  Passionspiel. 

The  first  point  for  which  every  traveller  to  the  Passion  Play 
now  aims  is  the  beautiful  city  of  Munich;  a  place  worthy,  in 
itself,  of  a  pilgrimage  from  any  clime,  by  every  lover  of  archi- 
tecture, sculpture  and  painting.  From  Munich  the  little  village 
of  Oberammergau,  nestled  in  the  heart  of  the  Bavarian  High- 
lands, lies  distant  towards  the  South  West  about  sixty  miles. 
Three  quarters  of  this  distance  is  now  traversed  by  railway, 
and  towards  the  end  of  each  week,  trains  of  interminable  length, 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND   PLUMMET  53 

with  puffing  engines  harnessed  before  and  behind,  and  laden 
with  a  vast  army  of  pilgrims  from  all  nations  wend  their  slow 
length  along  at  a  pace  scarcely  surpassing  that  of  a  Swiss  dili- 
gence, until,  after  several  dreary  hours,  Murnau,  the  terminus  is 
reached.  Here,  a  strange  scene  presents  itself.  Four  or  five 
hundred  vehicles  of  every  description: — einspanners,  zweispan- 
ners,  and  vierspanners;  stellwagen,  postwagen  and  wagons  of 
all  sizes  and  shapes,  diligences  and  carryalls,  omnibuses  and 
improvised  canvas-covered  hay  racks  fill  every  available  nook 
and  corner  of  the  road;  while  a  concourse  of  two  thousand 
bewildered  travellers  hurrying  to  and  fro,  a  babel  of  sounds  in 
which  every  language  of  Europe  is  vehemently  vociferated,  a 
seething  whirlpool  of  human  forms  in  which  no  two  pathways 
seem  to  lie  in  the  same  direction,  makes  a  scene  more  like  an 
etching  of  Dante's  Inferno  by  Gustave  Dore,  than  a  spectacle  of 
earth.  Yet,  in  fifteen  minutes,  as  in  a  dream,  all  have  vanished, 
and  one  lonely  party  of  travellers,  lingering  at  the  station  and 
hopelessly  surrounding  a  Saratoga  trunk  are  the  sole  strangers 
and  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  the  quiet  country  village. 

The  drive  from  Murnau  to  Oberammergau  occupies  from  three 
to  four  hours.  The  road,  for  the  first  part,  threads  along  the 
banks  and  through  the  lovely  valley  of  the  Laisach,  with  forest- 
covered  hills  on  either  hand  and  the  snow-crowned  Zugspitze 
looming  up  before.  Then,  at  Oberau,  it  turns  sharply  to  the 
West  and  in  a  few  moments  arrives  at  a  hostelry,  where  a  wait- 
ing assemblage  of  drivers  with  extra  horses,  proclaim  that  the 
pilgrim  in  his  progress  has  arrived  at  that  point  where  the  hill 
Difficulty  is  to  be  climbed.  And  truly  a  hill  Difficulty  it  is. 
For  more  than  half  an  hour,  the  road  ascends  under  the  leafy 
trees  the  thickly  wooded  slopes  of  the  Ettalerberg  at  a  grade 
steeper  than  that  of  any  Alpine  pass,  while,  at  every  pause,  the 
smoking,  toiling  horses,  seem  as  though  they  could  not  draw  the 
carriage  a  foot  further.  At  last,  the  summit  is  reached  nearly 
a  thousand  feet  above  the  valley  below  and  here  stands  the 
picturesque  Monastery  of  Ettal,  most  closely  connected  in  the 
past  with  Oberammergau  and  its  Passionspiel. 

Before  us  now  stretches  out  the  romantic  Ammer  Thai,  a 
mountain  valley,  so  elevated,  that  the  surrounding  peaks  are 
dwarfed  to  the  size  of  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson,  and  after 
a  short  half  hour's  drive  through  this  valley,  over  nearly  level 
roads,   the   sharp   cone-like   form    and    precipitous   sides    of  the 


54  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1875 

towering  Kofel  proclaim  that  the  end  of  the  pilgrimage  is  nigh. 
This  Kofel  is  the  most  characteristic  feature  in  the  landscape  of 
Oberammergau,  and  to  it,  at  once,  all  eyes  in  approaching,  are 
turned.  It  stands  above  the  village  like  a  guardian  angel  or  a 
Rock  of  Refuge,  and  upon  its  highest  point  the  Oberammer- 
gauers  have  planted  a  simple,  huge,  unpretending  cross,  whose 
arms  catch  the  first  beams  of  the  rising,  and  the  last  of  the 
setting,  sun,  and  thus  form  a  constant,  daily  reminder  of  Him, 
whose  sacred  Life  is  the  first  theme  of  their  thoughts. 

After  passing  the  peak  the  village  of  Oberammergau  stands 
before  the  traveller.  The  feeling  with  which,  at  first,  he  gazes 
about  him  is  one  of  disappointment.  The  place  seems  more  like 
an  Alpine  hamlet  than  any  thing  deserving  the  name  of  a  village. 
Streets  there  are  none,  unless  the  crooked  windings  between 
house  and  house  can  be  called  such.  The  dwellings  themselves, 
like  most  of  those  in  Bavarian  villages,  are  large  two  or  three- 
story  buildings,  with  immense  picturesque  eaves  casting  their 
deep  shadows  beneath,  and,  here  and  there,  richly  carved  beams 
jutting  out  from  the  second  story,  or  elaborate  frescoes,  repre- 
senting the  Madonna  and  Child  or  some  familiar  Scripture  scene, 
painted  upon  the  stuccoed  walls. 

At  one  end  of  this  village  stands  the  large  Romanesque 
Parish  Church  that  is  the  spiritual  home  of  the  people. 

How  can  such  a  people,  in  such  a  station  of  life  and  inhabit- 
ing such  a  village,  with  so  few  advantages,  and  removed  so  far 
from  all  cultivating  influences,  be  able  to  produce  a  Passion  Play 
which  is  unique  in  the  history  of  the  world,  which  vast  multi- 
tudes travel  thousands  of  miles  to  witness,  which  has  been  visited 
and  looked  upon  by  nearly  every  royal  personage  in  Europe, 
and  which  has  given  rise  to  a  literature  all  its  own?  And  how 
is  it,  that  when  similar  representations  have  every  where  else 
been  discontinued  and  put  under  the  ban,  this  alone  is  allowed 
to  survive?  Many  influences  have  tended  to  bring  about  this 
result.  Much  is  due  to  the  situation  of  the  place  itself  upon 
the  character  of  the  people.  The  valley  in  which  the  village 
stands  is  nearly  three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea 
and  it  is  literally  a  valley  in  the  clouds. 

Rain  and  dense  fogs  are  frequent  here,  while  the  villages  lower 
down  are  basking  under  sunlit  skies.  For  days  the  clouds  which 
have  become  entangled  in  the  hill  tops  hide  the  sunlight  from 


1882]  SETTING  LINE  AND   PLUMMET  55 

view,  and  nature,  at  this  high  elevation,  is  not  what  it  is  below. 
The  people  therefore  are  used  to  long,  dreary,  sunless  days. 
They  have  few  pleasures  or  recreations,  and  shut  out  from  the 
diversions  of  the  outer  world,  the  festivals  of  the  Church  become 
not  only  their  holy  days  but  their  holidays. 

The  different  seasons  of  the  Christian  Year  bringing  the  Life 
of  Christ,  in  all  its  vividness  before  them,  from  Bethlehem  to 
Calvary  and  Olivet,  are  the  epochs  to  which  they  look  forward 
with  most  glowing  anticipations,  or  gaze  back  upon,  with  fond- 
est memories.  That  sacred  Life  becomes  thus  interwoven  with 
all  the  joys  and  brightest  associations  of  their  own  life.  It 
stands  before  them  as  a  living,  present  reality.  They  walk  by 
His  side  with  the  disciples.  They  rejoice  in  His  Birth  at  Christ- 
mas. They  are  casting  branches  before  Him  and  shouting 
Hosanna  on  Palm  Sunday.  They  are  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross 
on  Good  Friday  and  at  the  open  sepulchre  on  Easter. 

When,  in  addition  to  this,  we  remember  that  they  have  been 
peculiarly  blessed  in  the  pastors  they  have  had,  for  the  past 
fifty  years:  pastors  who  were  spiritual-minded  men,  were  real 
fathers  to  their  flock,  and  who  have  done  all  in  their  power  to 
enhance  the  influence  of  these  holy  associations  we  have  pictured, 
we  have  before  us  an  evident  reason  why  they  enter  with  such 
earnestness  and  appreciation  into  the  different  scenes  of  the 
Passion  Play. 

Again,  owing  to  the  high  elevation  of  the  valley,  the  scant 
pastures  afforded  for  the  flocks  and  the  ceaseless  struggle  which 
the  people,  in  consequence,  have  had  to  put  forth  with  nature 
for  the  fruits  of  the  ground,  many  of  them  have  turned  their 
attention  from  husbandry  to  wood-carving,  and  this  has  been 
the  occupation  of  the  principal  families  for  many  generations. 

The  trade  of  wood-carving  is  in  itself  an  education.  It  cul- 
tivates the  eye  and  the  artistic  faculties.  It  develops  correct- 
ness of  taste  and  a  true  sense  of  proportion  and  form.  It  leads 
inevitably  to  the  close  study  and  observation  of  great  works  of 
art,  and  brings  about  a  familiarity  with,  and  an  appreciation  of 
those  paintings  and  sculptures  which  constitute  the  art  treas- 
ures of  the  world. 

When  one  beholds  in  George  Lang's  shop  at  Oberammergau, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci's  Last  Supper,  or  a  Madonna  of  Raphael, 
transposed  into  an  exquisitely  carved  wood  has  relief,  and  then 
remembers  that  this  is  the  original  work  of  some  humble  village 


56  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1875 

peasant,  it  is  an  indication  of  what  wood-carving  has  done  for 
the  people.  The  same  correctness  of  taste  which  enables  them 
to  produce  such  works,  enables  them  also  to  form  those  artistic 
posings  and  groupings  and  exquisite  tableaux  which  delight  the 
eye  in  the  Passion  Play.  No  artist  visitor  could  feel  more  keenly 
than  themselves  what  is  unnatural  or  disproportionate.  Their 
own  instinctive  feeling  and  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  has 
been  cultivated  to  such  a  degree,  that  the  varied,  ever-changing 
scenes  of  the  Passion  Play  almost  seem  as  though  they  were 
the  familiar  pictures  of  the  old  masters  endued  with  life. 

One  more  effect  we  trace  to  the  high  elevation  of  the  place. 
The  steep  Ettalerburg  which  we  have  described,  blocking  up  the 
end  of  the  valley  and  cutting  it  off"  so  completely  from  the  outer 
world,  has  stood  there  as  the  guardian  of  the  people's  purity  and 
simplicity.  It  has  isolated  them  from  evil  influences  and  temp- 
tations to  which  they  would  otherwise  have  been  subjected.  It 
has  enabled  them  to  retain  in  a  marked  degree  their  primitive 
characteristics;  and  the  result  is  that  while,  in  all  other  parts 
of  Europe,  through  force  of  public  opinion,  and  the  greater 
force  of  changed  conditions  of  life,  Passion  Plays  have  been 
discontinued,  in  this  one  solitary  instance,  this  relic  of  a  past 
age  and  of  mediaeval  time  remains  undisturbed,  with  the  seal 
and  sanction  of  the  Christian  world  resting  upon  it. 

Mr.  Satterlee's  poetic  nature  could  not  fail  to  search 
out  and  find  all  the  wealth  of  sentiment  that  lies  hidden 
beneath  historic  associations,  such  as  his  travels  gave  him 
access  to.  A  man  whose  lips  are  not  gifted  with  power 
of  poetic  speech  may  have  so  poetic  a  nature  as  habitually 
to  act  in  poetry  rather  than  in  prose.  This  he  did. 
Egypt  and  Palestine  were  to  him  not  places  for  sight- 
seeing but  for  devout  and  prayerful  contemplation. 
He  moved  through  the  country  where  his  Lord  once 
trod  with  reverence  and  child-like  awe,  storing  up  all 
the  while  treasures  to  be  used  when  the  hour  called 
for  them  to  be  produced.  Years  afterwards  he  brought 
Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem  and  Jordan  to  Washington 
and  embedded  them  deep  in  the  thought  and  life  of  the 
Church  in  America.  These  two  letters  to  his  sister  Mary 
tell  something  of  his  visit  in  Egypt  and  in  England:  — 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND  PLUMMET  57 

ALEXANDRIA,    EGYPT,   MARCH   6. 

My  dear  Mary:  I  received  your  welcome  letter  this  morning 
and  you  can  imagine  with  what  pleasure  I  read  it  when  I  tell 
you  we  have  here  been  a  fortnight  at  a  time  without  any  home 
mail.  It  seems  strange  to  hear  of  ice  and  snow,  when  for  the 
past  three  weeks  we  have  been  living  in  May  days  surrounded 
by  green  grass  and  spring  flowers,  with  orange  groves  and  palm 
trees  about  us  on  every  side.  I  cannot  begin  to  tell  you  how 
we  have  enjoyed  our  eastern  trip.  From  the  first  moment  when 
I  arrived  at  Alexandria  down  to  the  present  it  has  been  one  suc- 
cession of  the  strangest  experiences,  and  I  have  felt  as  though 
twenty  years  were  lopped  ofF  my  life  in  the  enthusiasm  and 
interest  and  sensation  of  novelty  with  which  I  have  gazed  about 
me.  Everything  is  new.  Books  give  one  no  idea  of  oriental  life. 
The  novelty  strikes  you  every  moment  almost  in  every  scene. 
Imagine  your  cab  driver,  in  a  turban  and  night  gown  with  bare 
legs,  long  trains  of  camels  with  their  supercilious  looks  slowly 
stalking  through  the  streets:  women  with  their  heads  and  bodies 
shrouded,  staring  at  you  over  their  yasmaks  with  only  the  eyes 
and  a  little  corner  of  the  forehead  visible,  beggars  in  turbans  and 
little  children  half  naked  running  after  you  and  roaring  "  back- 
shish. " 

One  old  beggar  understood  a  little  English  and  kept  saying 
"Good-bye  —  backshish  —  fine  day  —  backshish  —  nice  gel' man  — 
backshish  —  Good-bye,  good-bye  —  backshish!" 

The  carriages  (private)  have  runners  before  with  long  lances 
in  their  hands,  dressed  like  ballet  dancers  and  the  most  graceful 
figures  you  ever  saw. 

We  arrived  here  on  Feb.  19.  We  thought  Alexandria  fascinat- 
ing then,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  fearful  babel  of  sounds,  the 
anger  and  fist-shaking  and  swearing  in  Arabic  among  the  Egyp- 
tian, half-clad,  swarthy,  turbanned,  bare-legged  occupants  of 
the  swarm  of  boats  which  surrounded  the  steamer: —  but  Alexan- 
dria was  nothing  to  Cairo.  The  street  scenes  of  Cairo,  especially 
in  the  narrow  bazaars,  baffle  all  description.  I  have  literally 
stood  an  hour  at  a  street  corner  looking  at  the  passers  by.  It 
is  the  most  amusing  place  in  the  world,  every  body  wants  to 
swindle  you,  every  body  begs  of  you  with  the  most  unblushing 
effrontery,  and  the  astonishing  placidity  with  which  an  Egyptian 
will  take  any  snub,  even  the  point  of  your  boot  and  still  perse- 
vere, beggars  all  attempts  to  describe.     Of  course  we  visited  the 


58  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1875 

Mosques.  We  also  saw  a  great  national  festival  —  the  Birthday 
of  the  Prophet  in  which  all  the  clans  headed  by  their  hadjis 
were  reviewed  by  the  Khedive.  We  saw  the  dancing  dervishes 
and  the  howling  dervishes.  We  visited  Heliopolis  and  saw  the 
obelisk  upon  which  Moses  and  Joseph  must  have  gazed,  and  which 
was  standing  four  hundred  years  before  Abraham  was  born. 
But  the  most  wonderful  sights  of  all  were  the  Tombs  of  Sakkara 
with  their  wonderful  pictures  of  Egyptian  life  4500  years  ago 
at  Memphis;  the  lonely  Sphinx  and  the  Great  Pyramid  which 
some  suppose,  you  know,  to  have  been  built  at  God's  command. 
I  did  not  go  to  the  top  of  the  latter  but  I  went  into  it,  and  saw 
all  that  was  there.  The  King's  chamber  and  Queen's  chamber, 
the  Jewish  passage  and  the  Messianic  Hallway  supposed  to 
represent  a  period  of  1881  and  a  half  years. 

From  Cairo,  after  a  stay  of  ten  days,  we  went  to  Ismailia  on 
the  Suez  Canal,  where  twenty-four  of  us  passengers  were  put  on 
board  of  a  little  steam  launch,  so  small  that  we  did  not  dare  to 
move  without  upsetting  the  boat,  and  there  we  were  compelled 
to  remain  nearly  seven  hours,  cooped  up  like  so  many  chickens, 
until  Port  Said  was  reached  at  2  a.m.  (You  know  that  means 
night  time.)  As  you  may  imagine  our  memories  of  the  Suez 
Canal  are  not  particularly  agreeable.  The  keeper  of  the  Hotel 
at  Port  Said  is  a  Netherlander  and  a  swindler.  His  house  is 
called  Hotel  des  Pays  Bas  and  it  is  a  low  place  and  he  is  a  low 
fellow.  I  shall  publish  him  from  Montreal  to  Cape  Horn  and 
from  Orchard  Lake  to  Jerusalem  —  and  we  all  have  complained 
to  our  monarch  and  protector,  Thomas  Cook  —  of  his  outra- 
geous charges!  Thence  we  took  the  steamer  to  Jaffa,  the  ancient 
Joppa,  arriving  early  the  next  morning  and  landing  in  smooth 
seas,  a  fortunate  occurrence  for  it  often  happens  that  the  waters 
are  rough  and  then  the  passengers  are  carried  on  to  Beyrout 
involving  a  delay  of  a  week  or  more.  At  Joppa  I  visited  what 
is  reported  to  be  the  veritable  house  of  Simon  the  Tanner.  It  is 
certainly  most  beautifully  situated  "near  to  the  sea,"  and  the 
probability  of  its  being  the  veritable  site  is  quite  strong.  It  took 
us  two  days  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  the  ladies  in  a  carriage  and 
the  gentlemen  on  horseback.  We  passed  many  Biblical  places, 
among  others  the  plains  of  Sharon  where  the  fields  are  covered 
with  wild  flowers  prominent  among  which  are  the  Rose  of  Sharon 
(the  sweet  smelling  narcissus)  and  the  lilies  of  the  field  men- 
tioned  by  our  Saviour,  the  red   anemone,   almost  the  counter- 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND  PLUMMET  59 

part  in  appearance  of  the  poppy  or  the  red  tulip.  We  also 
passed  over  the  Valley  of  Ajalon  where  Joshua  is  said  to  have 
commanded  the  sun  and  moon  to  stand  still.  Going  up  to 
Jerusalem  I  read  the  Psalms  of  Ascent  (CXX  to  CXXXIV), 
which  were  chanted  by  the  Jewish  pilgrims  when  they  went  up 
to  the  Holy  City.  And  I  always  tried  to  read  on  the  spot  the 
Scripture  narrative  of  every  place  I  visited. 

The  first  view  of  Jerusalem  as  you  come  over  the  grey  barren 
hills    is    disappointing.     One    sees    nothing   but  the  colonies   of 
modern  houses.    At  last  however  you  reach  the  walls  and  enter- 
ing by  the  Jaffa  Gate  find  the  Hotel  ("The  Mediterranean"),  the 
only  one  in  Jerusalem,   close  to  the  gate  within.     Jerusalem  is 
a  very  small  city  about  three  miles  in  circumference  wholly  en- 
closed with  walls,  with  a  few  streets  so  wretched,  narrow,  dirty 
and   badly  paved  that  few  horses  and   no  carriages  ever  enter 
them.     And    after   once   going   through   the   city   over   the   Via 
Dolorosa  you  find  that  once   enough  ever  after,  you  will  prefer 
to  go  around  outside  of  the  walls;     and  as  I  have  said  this  is 
not  much,  a  good  walker  could  make  the   circuit  of  the  whole 
city  in   three   quarters   of  an   hour.      Of  course   we  visited   the 
church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  all  the  traditional  sites.    These 
to  me  were  historically  interesting  as  the  shrines  of  many  pil- 
grimages,  but  they  aroused  no  holy  emotions.     The  church  of 
the    Holy    Sepulchre  is  indeed  a  [conglomeration].     It    contains 
besides  the  Sepulchre,  Calvary,  with  the  spots  where  the  three 
crosses   were,  the    centre  of   the    earth.      The  tombs  of  Adam, 
Melchisedek,  Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  the    Stone  of  Uncflion,  where 
the    body    was    anointed,    the    rocks    that   were    riven    by    the 
earthquake  at  the  resurrection,  the  pillar  to  which    Christ  was 
bound,  the  tomb  of    Helena,   etc.   etc.   etc.      Within    the  same 
building  are  chapels  of  the  Greek  Church,  the  Roman  Church, 
the  Armenian  and  Coptic  Churches  etc.     We  saw  the  hole  in  the 
wall  through  which  the  sacred  fire  which  descends  at  Easter  is 
given  to  the  pilgrims  —  the  most  shocking  imposture  of  Chris- 
tendom.    The  next  day  we  all  mounted  horses  and  started  for 
the   valley  of  the  Jordan— Judge   and   Mrs.   Mackay  of  Mon- 
treal,  Jennie    and    I    with    one    dragoman,    cook,    muleteers    &c. 
Crossing    the    Mt.    of  Olives    we    stopped    at    Bethany    for    our 
Bedouin  guard,  a  sheikh  who  went  with  us  to  keep  off  robbers 
(a  sort  of    blackmail    affair),  still  a  very    fierce    looking  pictur- 
esque Bedouin  who  has  killed  several  men  in  his  day  they  tell  me. 


60  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1875 

And  we  met  plenty  of  the  Bedouins  with  their  old  flintlock 
strapped  across  their  backs  and  clad  in  their  black  and  white 
mantles.  They  appeared,  feeding  their  sheep  on  the  top  of 
almost  every  hill,  and  especially  near  that  old  ruin  on  the  way 
toward  Jericho,  which  is  the  traditional  site  of  the  Inn  of  the 
Good  Shepherd.  It  was  down  hill  all  the  way.  1300  ft.  down 
hill  we  came  to  the  wild  and  gloomy  gorge  of  the  brook  Cherith 
where  Elijah  was  fed  by  the  ravens.  Then  suddenly  the  exquisite 
valley  of  the  Jordan  burst  upon  us,  with  the  Dead  Sea  flashing 
in  the  sunlight  in  the  South.  And  the  purple  mountains  of 
Moab  facing  us,  and  the  white  crest  of  snow-capped  Hermon 
in  the  far  North.  We  camped  at  Eriha,  a  mud  village  on  the 
site  of  ancient  Gilgal  and  modern  Jericho,  the  Jericho  of  Christ's 
day.  The  luxuriance  of  the  verdure  in  the  hot  valley  was  like 
June,  as  the  temperature  also;  the  bulbul  was  singing  on  every 
twig,  and  at  night  the  jackals  kept  barking  incessantly.  The  next 
day  we  started  early  for  the  Dead  Sea.  Before  us  were  the 
mountains  of  Moab,  the  peak  on  which  Moses  died  and  the  three 
summits  to  which  Balaam  was  taken  by  Balak  to  curse  Israel. 
In  two  hours  we  reached  the  Dead  Sea.  Contrary  to  my  ex- 
pectation it  was  an  exquisitely  beautiful  sheet  of  limpid  water, 
embosomed  in  mountains  and  I  enjoyed  my  bath  in  it  exceed- 
ingly. It  was  a  novel  sensation  to  float  on  water  as  on  a  mat- 
tress with  full  half  of  one's  body  above  the  surface.  And  when 
you  come  out  you  feel  as  though  you  had  been  oiled  all  over. 
Then  we  went  to  the  Jordan  —  an  hour's  ride  —  and  found  it  a 
turbid  swift-flowing  stream  of  about  one  hundred  feet  in  width, 
fringed  with  a  tangle  of  oleanders  and  bamboos  and  flowing 
between  high  muddy  banks.  Still  all  the  associations  of  the 
locality  rushed  upon  me  as  I  thought  how  across  that  ford  be- 
fore me  the  children  of  Israel  had  crossed  into  the  promised 
land,  and  Elijah  and  Elisha  had  walked  dry  shod,  and  Christ 
had  been  baptized. 

The  next  day  we  went  to  Elisha's  fountain  and  also  the  site 
of  old  Jericho,  three  great  mounds  of  earth  with  the  Mount  of 
Christ's  temptation,  now  riddled  with  an  hundred  caves  of  her- 
mits, behind  —  riding  home,  we  reached  Jerusalem  on  Saturday 
night.  Sunday  morning  we  went  to  the  English  Church  — 
where  strange  to  say  the  Psalms  were  the  same  Psalms  of  Ascent, 
and  the  Gospel,  Christ's  healing  of  Bartimaeus  on  the  way  from 
Jericho  up  to  Jerusalem.     In  the  afternoon  Jennie  and  I  took  a 


1882]  SETTING  LINE  AND   PLUMMET  61 

lovely  walk.  We  went  out  of  S.  Stephen's  Gate,  the  site  where 
the  martyr  was  stoned,  across  the  brook  and  valley  of  the 
Kedron  to  Gethsemane  where  there  are  eight  very  old  and  ven- 
erable olive  trees,  then  up  the  bridle  road  over  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  being  the  very  path  Christ's  feet  had  trod  when  He  went 
to  Bethany — where  He  cursed  the  barren  fig  tree,  and  especially 
where  he  spoke  the  words  recorded  in  St.  Matt.  XXIV  &  XXV. 
Then  we  came  to  a  summit  high  into  Bethany  which  is  now 
believed  to  be  the  spot  where  He  ascended  to  Heaven  (not  the 
traditional  place).  Then  we  came  to  Bethany.  On  our  way 
back  we  took  the  South  road,  the  road  of  Christ's  triumphal 
entry.  We  saw  the  ravine  across  which  He  sent  His  disciples 
into  the  village  over  against  them  for  the  ass  and  colt,  while 
He  and  the  multitude  took  the  round-about  course:  we  saw  the 
ruins  of  the  village  itself — Bethphage:  we  saw  the  exacl  spot 
where  the  city  in  its  beauty  bursts  upon  the  view,  and  where 
Jesus  wept  over  it.  Although  we  were  only  four  days  in 
Jerusalem  I  managed  to  visit  three  times  each  of  these 
spots. 

On  Monday  we  went  to  Bethlehem  and  spent  a  lovely  hour  on 
the  spot  where  the  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by  night  and 
the  angels  announced  the  birth  of  Christ:  and  on  Tuesday  we 
visited  the  harem  enclosure,  the  site  of  the  old  Jewish  Temple. 
Over  the  whole  area  —  the  most  sacred  spot  of  all  the  earth  to 
the  Jews  —  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  the  tokens  of  a  Moham- 
medan religion. 

We  were  unfortunately  obliged  to  leave  Jerusalem  on  the  very 
morning  of  Ash  Wednesday,  contrary  to  all  our  expectations, 
but  we  managed  to  start  from  the  hotel  very  early,  Wednesday 
morning  and  had  a  little  Ash  Wednesday  service  on  the  top  of  a 
hill  outside  the  Damascus  Gate,  which  is  now  looked  upon  by 
the  best  authorities,  as  Calvary  itself.  It  this  be  indeed  true, 
it  is  a  lovely  spot,  the  place  of  all  others  I  should  like  to  think 
of  as  the  scene  of  the  Crucifixion.  Strange  is  it  that  the  places 
which  are  now  believed  to  be  the  veritable  spots  where  Christ 
was  crucified  and  buried,  where  He  raised  Lazarus,  where  He 
wept  over  Jerusalem,  and  from  which  He  ascended  to  Heaven, 
should  have  utterly  escaped  the  life  of  tradition. 

I  take  up  this  letter  after  several  days.  We  are  now  on  our 
way  back  to  Europe  and  are  just  off  Crete.  (Wednesday, 
March  9.)     We  expedt  to  arrive  at  Naples  on  Saturday  and  at 


62  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1875 

Paris  on  Tuesday  morning.  I  cannot  as  yet  tell  when  we  shall 
sail  for  home,  but  we  will  probably  be  in  New  York  the  begin- 
ning of  June.  I  will  write  to  you,  however,  more  particularly 
later,  and  tell  you  the  exacfl  date.  How  I  wish  you  could  see 
the  Mediterranean  to-day.  It  is  not  the  stormy  sea  we  have 
been  heretofore  sailing  over,  but  the  ideal  Levant,  as  blue  as  the 
Bay  of  Naples.  Thank  Robert  for  his  kind  letter  and  tell  him 
I  will  try  to  answer  it  very  soon.  It  reached  me  at  Jaffa,  and 
I  was  very  glad  to  hear  from  him.  The  papers  you  sent  me 
have  also  arrived  safely  and  I  have  read  them  with  very  great 
interest.  It  seems  very  strange  in  this  May  day  climate  to  read 
your  account  of  the  ice  and  snow  in  America,  and  the  letter  we 
receive  from  New  Hamburgh  speaks  also  of  an  unusually  cold 
winter.  It  is  with  a  heavy  heart  I  have  written  there  of  late, 
there  have  been  so  many  sad  changes. 

With  oceans  of  love  to  you  all  I  am  ever, 

Your  attached  brother 

HENRY. 
LONDON,  JUNE   7,  l88o. 

My  dear  Mary:  I  have  already  written  a  long  letter  to  you 
which  has  been  mislaid  much  to  my  chagrin,  for  it  took  me  a 
long  time  to  write  and  was  full  of  sketches  which  I  have  not 
time  to  repeat  —  sketches  of  the  streets  and  original  things  in 
Chester.  When  you  come  to  England  be  sure  to  give  a  day  or 
two  to  Chester.  The  walls  encompass  the  city  as  in  the  old 
time,  and  the  houses  are  still  in  large  measure  of  the  birth  of 
Shakespeare  sort.  While  the  streets  are  lined  with  double  side 
walks:  one,  as  with  us,  skirting  the  roadway,  the  other  an 
arcade,  through  the  second  stories  of  the  houses  thus  [here  a 
sketch  of  "the  Rows"]  and  under  the  upper  arcade  are  some  of 
the  quaintest  shops  of  old  furniture  ever  seen.  We  went  from 
Chester  to  Lichfield  to  see  the  grand  old  Cathedral  there,  and 
found  not  only  in  the  Cathedral  a  church  eclipsing  our  greatest 
expectations,  but  in  the  city  a  quaint,  old,  unvisited  place  with 
the  atmosphere  of  a  past  time  and  in  the  inn,  "The  Swan  Inn," 
they  regaled  us  with  rook  pie.  Then  we  went  to  Leamington, 
Warwick,  Coventry  and  Kenilworth,  all  of  which  you  remember. 
It  was  very  delightful  to  renew  my  memories  of  Warwick  Castle, 
I  found  I  had  not  forgotten  much.  Though  Leamington  had 
completely  faded  from  my  mind.    It  is  a  delightful  place,  though 


1882]  SETTING  LINE  AND   PLUMMET  63 

there  is  a  little  too  much  of  a  Saratoga  atmosphere  about  it  to 

suit  me. 

We  are  riding  in  second  class  cars  all  the  way  and  find  there 
is  no  difference  between  them  and  first  class  as  far  as  comfort 
is  concerned,  while  there  is  a  great  difference  in  the  way  you  are 
treated.  In  the  first  class  you  are  treated  like  lords,  followed  by 
troops  of  porters  &c:  in  the  second  you  are  simply  let  alone — ■ 
and  avoid  all  the  temptations  so  hard  for  Americans  to  stand,  of 
great  attention  and  adulation  on  the  part  of  waiters. 

Here  we  are  now,  not  in  Dutchess  County,  America,  but  in 
Duchess  St.,  London.  We  are  not  at  the  Langham,  but  are  close 
to  it,  which  is  nearly  as  good,  and  for  a  very  moderate  price, 
which  is  better.  We  are  in  the  centre  of  the  "Fifth  Avenue" 
portion  of  London;  about  a  week  ago  Arthur  made  his  appear- 
ance suddenly  after  breakfast,  and  told  us  that  he  and  Josie  had 
arrived.  They  are  around  the  corner,  about  three  minutes  walk 
from  us,  and  we  see  them  almost  daily.  Annie  is  somewhat 
further  off;  very  near  Bloomsbury  Square  where  you  remember 
we  all  once  stayed. 

I  find  I  remember  London  very  well,  Trafalgar  Square,  Charing 
Cross,  Morley's  Hotel,  the  pictures  in  the  National  Gallery  — 
all  bring  back  many,  many  memories  of  the  past.  Arthur  and 
Annie  accompanied  us  to  the  Tower  of  London,  and  to  one  or 
two  other  places.  Arthur  is  learning  to  travel  about  by  him- 
self, and  I  think  is  improving  and  increasing  his  stock  of  knowl- 
edge in  manifold  ways.  He  wants  to  start  off  soon  travelling 
by  himself,  and  proposes  to  go  to  Paris,  Geneva,  the  Italian 
lakes  via  the  Rhine  Valley  and  the  Simplon,  thence  to  Milan, 
Genoa,  Pisa,  Florence,  Verona,  crossing  the  Brenner  Pass  into 
the  Tyrol  and  joining  us  at  Munich  or  Innsbruck.  Annie  will 
remain  here  about  a  month  then  go  to  Paris,  and  thence  to 
Lucerne,  Switzerland.  We  will  remain  here  a  week  or  a  fort- 
night longer  and  then  after  a  little  tour  in  the  interior  of  Eng- 
land, proceed  to  Antwerp  and  Holland,  up  the  Rhine  to  Cologne 
and  Munich.  We  spent  the  first  two  or  three  days  in  London 
sight-seeing,  and  latterly  have  devoted  ourselves  to  shopping  in 
a  most  vigorous  style.  I  have  presented  some  of  my  letters  of 
introduction  and  have  met  with  most  cordial  receptions.  I 
called  on  Dean  Stanley  last  week,  and  he  was  very  kind  indeed, 
giving  me  a  free  pass  into  the  Abbey,  to  visit  it  whenever  I 
liked,  taking  me  into  the  meeting  of  the  Convocation  of  Canter- 


64  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1875 

bury,  where  I  was  the  only  spectator,  and,  on  last  Saturday  night 
through  his  instrumentality,  Jennie  and  I  were  permitted  to 
accompany  the  Ecclesiological  Society  in  their  examinations  of 
the  Abbey,  and  spent  two  hours  in  a  most  interesting  manner 
inspeding  the  Cathedral.  Last  Sunday  Evening  Jennie  and  I 
dined  with  the  Dean  at  his  own  house,  and  afterward  went  with 
the  family  into  the  Abbey  to  the  evening  service  in  the  Nave,  at 
which  thousands  were  present  and  the  Archbishop  of  York 
preached.  Then  we  went  back  to  the  Dean's,  and  were  most 
kindly  invited  by  some  guests  of  his  —  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drummond 
—  to  visit  them  in  Drummond  Castle.  Since  I  have  been  here 
I  have  also  heard  the  Bishop  of  Ripon,  the  Bishop  of  Durham 
(Dr.  Lightfoot,  the  most  learned  scholar  in  England),  Dr.  Farrar 
and  Dean  Goulburn  preach  —  and  it  has  all  been  preaching  of  a 
very  high  order.  The  Bishop  of  Durham's  sermon  was  a  most 
striking  one  on  the  text,  "Then  all  his  disciples  forsook  Him  and 
fled."  Its  subject  was  Failure,  1st  the  necessity  of  failure,  2nd, 
the  discipline  of  failure,  3rd,  the  triumph  of  failure.  X.  and  I 
called  to  see  our  Minister  the  other  day,  James  Russell  Lowell, 
and  spent  a  very  pleasant  hour  with  him.  He  was  very  com- 
municative, and  told  us  a  great  deal  about  himself. 

This  afternoon  I  went  to  Christie's  and  examined  the  pictures 
with  him,  which  we  brought  over.  Mr.  Christie  was  very  cour- 
teous but  very  decided.  He  says  the  pictures  are  none  of  them 
originals;  that  "the  Cuyp"  was  the  best,  but  that  it  was  only 
a  clever  imitation  of  Cuyp's  style,  and  was  probably  the  work 
of  an  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Wirts.  "That  fisherboy's 
face,"  said  Mr.  Christie,  "was  never  painted  by  Cuyp,  it  is  not 
a  Dutch  but  an  English  face."  Then  he  dashed  all  my  hopes 
to  the  ground  by  adding,  "You  had  better  take  all  your  pidures 
back  to  America  for  you  will  get  much  more  for  them  there  than 
here.  I  will  sell  them  for  you  if  you  wish,  but  they  will  not 
bring  eighty  pounds  ($400)."  So  much  for  our  castles  in  the 
air!  I  think  I  will  let  the  matter  rest  a  few  days  and  then  see 
Christie  again.  If  he  speaks  in  the  same  way  then,  I  think  we 
had  better  do  as  he  says  —  re-ship  the  pictures  for  America. 
We  all  think  of  you  daily  and  are  never  together  without  speak- 
ing of  you.  How  I  wish  you  were  here  with  us!  I  am  sure  it 
would  be  a  very  great  enjoyment  to  you. 

Tuesday   Morning  —  June    8.     We    are   off  this   morning   for 
the    South   Kensington  Museum    and    I    have   only  a    moment, 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND  PLUMMET  65 

while  the  others  are  at  breakfast,  in  which  to  finish  this 
letter. 

Give  my  love  to  Robert  and  kiss  the  "Polliwogs"  for  me. 
Jennie  unites  with  me  in  oceans  of  love  to  you  all. 

Ever  your  affectionate  brother, 

HENRY. 

During  his  absence  abroad  his  people  were  not  idle. 
His  life  was  a  torch  that  had  set  them  on  fire,  until 
they  saw  what  he  saw  and  his  ideals  became  theirs. 
This  was  his  way.  By  identifying  himself  with  the 
interests  of  others  he  lifted  others  into  the  uplands  of 
his  own  best  life.  No  wonder  it  succeeded  for  it  is  the 
way  of  the  Incarnate  God.  For  years  he  had  dreamed 
of  a  parish  house  as  a  means  of  consolidating  and  co- 
ordinating the  life  and  activities  of  his  people.  The  idea 
was  novel.  There  were  few  parish  houses  in  the  whole 
country,  and  his  was  among  the  first  to  be  built.  In 
1877,  anticipating  the  day  when  his  dream  would  be 
realized,  he  got  together  the  money  to  buy  the  lot  adja- 
cent to  the  Church.  While  he  was  abroad  the  leading 
spirits  of  Zion  Church  conspired  together  to  secure 
funds  for  the  building  against  his  return.  There  was 
much  labor  and  self-sacrifice  during  the  intervening 
months,  and  before  he  reached  America  the  parish 
house  was    assured. 

The  family  were  greeted  on  their  arrival  home  with  the 
warmth  and  joy  of  a  united  community.  A  reception 
was  given  them  by  the  parish,  and  the  crowning  moment 
of  the  occasion  came,  when  the  funds  for  the  parish 
house  were  presented  to  the  surprised  and  delighted 
Rector. 

Mr.  Satterlee  set  to  work  at  once  upon  the  design. 
He  was  impatient  of  detail,  and  yet  he  learned  to  school 
himself  into  such  self-control  as  enabled  him  to  bestow 
on  such  a  task  infinite  pains.  The  corner-stone  was  laid 
on  August  28,  1 88 1,  and  the  building  was  completed 
and  opened  before  Mr.  Satterlee  closed  his  pastorate 
in   Wappinger's   Falls  the   year  following. 


66  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1875 

Parish  houses  are  in  these  progressive  days  a  common- 
place, having  risen  through  a  variety  of  stages  in  the 
past  quarter  of  a  century.  Advanced  social  workers  are 
today  sometimes  inclined  to  look  at  the  old-fashioned 
idea  of  a  parish  house  as  a  plaster  that  hid,  rather  than 
healed,  one  of  the  world's  sores.  When  the  Parish  House 
of  Zion  Church  was  established  it  was  more  rare  than 
aeroplanes  now  are.  Moreover  it  responded  to  and 
met  a  social  and  religious  need,  in  the  very  form  that  it 
assumed.  It  was  a  necessary  and  important  stage  in 
progress,  without  which  we  could  not  have  reached  the 
more  searching  methods  and  effective  agencies  which  we 
believe  we  have  been  discovering  of  late.  According 
to  the  mind  of  Mr.  Satterlee  it  was  the  nexus  between 
Sunday  and  Monday.  It  was  the  visible  outspoken 
announcement  that  Christianity  was  for  every  day, 
and  that  the  Church  was  the  centre,  the  protector, 
the  sympathizer  of  all  thought  and  activity,  serious  and 
gay.  It  was  fitting  therefore  that  the  erection  of  Zion 
Parish  House  should  have  been  the  capstone  of  Mr. 
Satterlee's  work  in  his  first  cure. 

The  building,  which  still  continues  to  fill  its  function, 
though  in  vastly  different  conditions  than  of  yore,  is  of 
stone,  connected  with  the  Church  by  beautiful  cloisters. 
On  one  occasion  shortly  before  Bishop  Brooks'  death 
he  was  at  the  formal  opening  of  a  new  parish  house  in 
connection  with  one  of  the  churches  of  his  Diocese. 
It  was  complete  up  to  the  top  notch.  After  inspecting 
it,  he  remarked  to  the  rector:  "Well,  I  suppose  now 
the  creaking  of  machinery  will  begin."  But  there  are 
parish  houses  and  parish  houses,  and  that  of  Zion  Church 
was  not  the  sort  that  creaked  when  in  operation. 

It  occupies  the  very  spot  where  the  wife  of  Judge 
Matthew  Mesier  in  1820  laid  the  spiritual  foundations 
of  the  parish,  in  her  group  of  little  ones  gathered  for 
instruction  in  God's  Word  and  Worship  under  an  apple 
tree.  The  tree  has  borne  fruit  and  borne  it  abun- 
dantly. 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND   PLUMMET  67 

This  year  Henry  Mesier,  son  of  the  Judge,  senior 
warden  and  first  person  to  be  confirmed  in  the  parish, 
went  to  his  rest. 

Another  institution  already  referred  to,  which  owed 
its  existence  to  the  combined  efforts  of  Mr.  Satterlee  and 
Mr.  Grinnell,  was  the  Library.  It  grew  from  a  reading- 
room  to  a  well-equipped  library  of  4,000  volumes  in  a 
building  of  its  own.  Mr.  Grinnell  presented  it  to  the 
town  in  1887.  The  building  is  opposite  the  Church,  and 
its  affairs  are  administered  by  an  elective  board  of 
citizens.  It  is  full  of  memorial  rooms  which  accommodate 
various  activities.  Flower  sales  were  instituted  to 
encourage  gardening  and  an  intelligent  appreciation  of 
flowers.  There  is  a  good  collection  of  photographs  and 
other  pictures,  and  a  small  museum.  Public  lectures 
were  early  inaugurated  under  the  auspices  of  the  Library, 
and  such  men  as  Charles  Dudley  Warner,  Wendell 
Phillips,  Dr.  I.  I.  Hayes,  the  Arctic  explorer,  Bayard 
Taylor  and  Paul  du  Chaillu,  were  enlisted  as  lecturers. 

The  parish  in  which  a  handful  of  communicants  re- 
ceived the  sacred  food  the  first  Christmas  (1868)  of  Mr. 
Satterlee's  life  there,  now  had  a  roll  of  five  hundred  and 
fifty,  whose  religious  life  centred  at,  and  drew  its  inspira- 
tion from,  the  altar.  Zion  Church  had  reached  the  zenith 
of  its  history.  It  represented  sixteen  years  of  careful 
constructive  work  in  a  growing  and  prosperous  town. 
If  Mr.  Satterlee  was  to  leave,  it  was  a  fitting  moment 
to  do  so.  He  had  been  busy  with  the  line  and  plummet. 
A  successor  would  find  a  well-planned  structure  to  use 
in  behalf  of  God's  Kingdom.  Had  he  stayed,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  he  would  have  found  immense  satisfaction 
in  spending  his  powers  upon  the  task  of  the  rural  pastor 
as   Chaucer  pictures   him. 

He  was  a  shepherde,  and  noght  a  mercenarie: 
And  though  he  hooly  were  and  vertuous, 
He  was  to  synful  man  nat  despitous, 
Ne  of  his  speche  dangerous  ne  digne, 
But  in  his  techyng  descreet  and  benygne, 


68  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1875 

To  drawen  folk  to  hevene  by  fairnesse, 

By  good  ensample,  this  was  his  bisynesse: 

But  it  were  any  persone  abstinat, 

What  so  he  were,  of  heigh  or  lough  estat, 

Hym  wolde  he  snybben  sharply  for  the  nonys. 

A  bettre  preest  I  trowe  that  nowher  noon  ys; 

He  waited  after  no  pompe  and  reverence, 

He  maked  him  a  spiced  conscience, 

But  Christes  loore,  and  his  Apostles  twelve, 

He  taughte,  but  first  he  folwed  it  hymselve. 

What  a  happy  thing  it  is  that  in   all  the  years  that 

have    intervened    since    Chaucer,    inspired    by     'a    Poure 

Persoun  of  a  Toun,"  wrote  these  lines,  there  has  seldom 

been  any  considerable  stretch  of  time  when  the  typical 

parson  of  the  Anglican  Communion  was  not   a  man  of 

this  sort!     Mr.  Satterlee  was  a  Person  or  Parson  of  his 

town.     There  would  have  been  no  pause  in  his  activity 

or  leadership,  wherever  he  was.     His  character  was  too 

well  set  to  allow  of  any  nestling  on  the  hither  side  of 

eternity.     If  conditions   forbade   further  extensive  work, 

intensive  service  would  have  filled  his  life.     Perhaps  it  is 

idle   to   conjecture   what   would    have    happened    had    he 

stayed  where  he  was,  as  his  emotions  urged  him  to  do. 

But  it  is  not  difficult  to  think  of  him  as  continuing,  like 

Herbert  or  Keble,  a  fruitful  ministry  in  a  rural  parish  as 

pastor,  preacher,   and  probably  writer.     In  after  life,  in 

the  distraction  and  turmoil  of  a  big  city  parish,  he  wrote 

enough  to  show  that  in  different  conditions  he  could  have 

written  more  and  better.     His  life  was  ordered  otherwise. 

Hardly  had  he  started  in  again  after  his  travels  to  gather 

up    loose   ends    and   to   pursue   his   customary    duties    as 

priest  and  pastor,  before  he  received  the  notification  of 

his  election  as  Rector  of  Calvary  Church  in  New  York 

City  on  March  2,  1882.     Both  his  personality  and  work 

could    not    fail    to    attract    attention.     His    parish    had 

become    one    of   the    most    conspicuous    in    the    Diocese. 

Among    his    monied    parishioners    were    New    York    men 

whose  country   homes  were  in  New  Hamburgh.     When 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND   PLUMMET  69 

still  young  in  his  ministry  he  was  elected  to  membership 
in  a  clerical  club  of  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  E.  A.  Washburn 
was  the  leader.  Indeed  he  was  the  first  country  member 
of  the  club.  When  it  came  to  his  turn  to  present,  as 
was  customary,  a  paper  for  discussion,  he  spoke  with 
independence  and  emphasis.  The  paper  was  severely 
criticised,  more  than  it  would  have  been  had  not  its 
author  been  young,  and  with  ecclestiastical  and  theologi- 
cal views  of  a  difFerent  color  from  the  majority  of  his 
fellow-members.  Dr.  Washburn,  after  listening  to  the 
criticisms  which  were  freely  made,  championed  him  by 
saying  that  the  paper  "showed  study  of  the  best  thought 
of  the  day  and  embodied  the  truth  which  he  himself  had 
lived  by  and,  please  God,  would  die  by." 

When  the  call  came  Mr.  Satterlee  proceeded  to  New 
York  to  consider  the  question  on  the  spot.  The  Rev. 
Edward  A.  Washburn,  D.D.,  was  Rector  of  Calvary 
Church  from  1865,  when  he  succeeded  Dr.  Coxe,  until 
his  death  in  1881,  his  ministry  at  Calvary  covering  the 
same  period  as  Mr.  Satterlee's  at  Zion.  It  was  character- 
istic of  Mr.  Satterlee  that  upon  going  to  New  York  his 
first  act  was  to  call  on  Mrs.  Washburn,  "  a  true  hearted 
magnanimous  woman,"  as  he  termed  her  at  the  time  of 
her  decease  in  1892.  Dr.  Washburn  had  been  a  great 
preacher  and,  especially  during  the  last  years  of  his  life, 
had  not  given  close  attention  to  the  pastoral  side  of  his 
office.  It  had  been  his  secret  wish,  expressed  to  no  one 
but  his  wife,  that  the  vestry  would  give  him  an  assistant, 
who  would  become  responsible  for  all  the  work  of  the 
parish  except  the  Sunday  morning  sermon.  Calvary 
Parish  was  then,  as  now,  one  of  the  more  important 
Church  centres  in  New  York  City  and  it  was  no  small 
compliment  to  be  asked  to  become  rector. 

Mr.  Satterlee  met  the  vestry  saying  that  it  was  im- 
portant before  any  conclusion  was  reached  that  they 
should  know  one  another  through  personal  contact,  and 
leave  no  room  for  misunderstanding  on  either  side. 
"I   thought,"    he  said,   "that   I   ought   to   meet   you   face 


7o  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1875 

to  face.  You  may  wish  a  great  preacher.  I  am  not  one. 
You  may  want  a  low  churchman.  I  am  not  a  low 
churchman.  I  give  you  back  your  call/5  Such  engaging 
frankness  could  have  but  one  effecl:.  It  made  the  vestry 
more  than  ever  anxious  to  secure  him  as  their  rector. 
Accordingly  they  renewed  the  call.  "When  I  was  called/5 
Mr.  Satterlee  says,  "I  asked  the  vestry  to  reduce  the 
unknown  ground  between  us,  saying  I  would  tell  every- 
thing regarding  myself  if  they  would  do  the  same  about 
the  church.  I  then  handed  them  back  their  informal 
call  and  said  if  they  gave  me  a  formal  one,  after  our 
talk,  I  should  take  the  matter  into  very  serious  considera- 
tion, but  could  not  promise  to  accept.  The  call  came  a 
week  after  this  and  I  accepted,  taking  charge  of  the 
parish  on  the  second  Sunday  after  Easter,   1882. ,5 

When  Mr.  Satterlee  accepted  it  he  did  not  do  so  be- 
cause he  was  restless,  or  because,  of  his  own  volition,  he 
would  have  considered  any  lot  other  than  the  one  which 
hitherto  had  been  given  him,  but  because  he  saw  before 
him  in  the  city  of  his  birth  and  education,  in  conditions 
with  which  he  was  not  unfamiliar,  an  opportunity  to 
serve  the  Church  which  he  could  not  neglect.  Behind 
him  in  Zion  Parish  was  as  finished  a  product  of  labor 
as  most  men  can  dare  to  hope  for  in  a  life-time.  Beckon- 
ing him  was  a  field  that  needed  the  touch  of  a  new 
hand,  the  labor  of  a  strong  man,  and  the  experienced 
powers  of  organization  which  he  could  bring  to  play  upon 
the  situation.  This  alone,  however,  would  not  have 
constituted  in  his  mind  a  sufficient  reason  for  severing 
existing  relations.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  of  his  rejecting 
a  large  and  flourishing  work  simply  because  it  was 
prosperous.  To  win  him  you  had  to  challenge  him. 
In  other  days  knights-errant  were  made  of  the  stufF  that 
was  in  him.  To  his  life's  end  he  was  always  in  the  lists. 
The  final  test  in  any  critical  step  for  one  who  walked 
with  God,  as  he  had  learned  to  do,  was  neither  his 
preference,  nor  his  judgment  of  the  relative  values  of 
here  or  there,  nor  the  clamor  of  a  seeming  opportunity, 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND  PLUMMET  71 

nor  the  twice  repeated  call.  It  was  an  intensely  personal 
thing.  It  was  whether  the  voice  of  God  sounded  clear 
and  strong  in  and  through  all  other  voices.  He  could  do 
only  what  God  bade  him  do.  That  once  made  clear  he 
did  not  hesitate  in  his  decision,  after  which  there  could 
be  no  looking  back.  He  felt  that  as  God  had  called 
him  to  Zion  Church;  now  he  was  calling  him  from  this 
his  first  love.  Accordingly  he  accepted  his  election  as 
rector  of  Calvary,  and  on  April  30  he  delivered  his 
farewell  pastoral  charge  and  officiated  for  the  last  time 
as  rector  of  Zion. 

Thus  ended  the  first  rounded  period  of  his  ministry, 
and  now  as  his  life  rises  before  us  in  its  completeness,  it 
is  easy  to  see  he  was  being  made  ready  for  the  position 
and  work  which  would  ultimately  claim  him. 

Some  men  are  born  to  build.  He  was  one  of  them. 
Put  such  people  where  you  will,  and  they  will  find 
material  where  others,  less  given  to  construction,  will 
find  none.  They  are  the  men  who  make  work  when 
conditions  do  not  drive  them  to  it.  A  builder  is  not 
dependent  upon  constructing  a  whole  building  before  he 
can  set  his  powers  free.  If  it  is  a  foundation  to  be  built, 
his  best  efforts  go  into  the  part  of  the  structure  which  is 
least  visible,  and  a  foundation  it  is.  Or  if  it  is  setting  the 
plumb-line  to  the  rising  walls,  it  is  that  which  consumes 
his  energies.  But  a  builder  always  sees  the  whole 
building  with  his  inner  eye  before  he  lays  the  foundation 
stone.  To  him  the  building  is  complete  as  an  ideal 
before  it  is  begun  as  a  fact.  Once  seen,  the  vision  is 
compelling.  It  is  the  builder's  pain  and  joy,  his  vexation 
and  inspiration.  He  is  no  longer  his  own.  In  the  grip 
of  the  purpose,  which  is  born  of  obedience  to  the  vision, 
he  is  carried  along  like  the  ship  by  the  current.  All 
castles  begin  as  castles  in  the  air.  The  function  of 
those  who  see  them  is  to  put  foundations  under  them, 
as  some  one  has  bravely  put  it. 

Mr.  Satterlee  in  Wappinger's  Falls  was  discovered  to 
himself  as  a  builder.     The    conditions    were   favorable  to 


72  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1875 

call  forth  his  powers  and  give  them  free  play.  There  is 
not  any  doubt  that  they  would  have  ripened  satisfactorily 
elsewhere,  but  in  Zion  Parish  opportunity  was  at  its 
height. 

He  began  within  and  worked  outward  from  within. 
First  the  spiritual  fabric,  and  afterwards  the  body 
which  it  is  to  energize  and  use.  Every  pastor  is  not  a 
character  builder.  Only  the  best  pastors  are.  Mr. 
Satterlee's  idea  of  salvation  was  of  a  prompt  and  utili- 
tarian sort.  He  would  save  men  for  as  well  as  from  a 
certain  fate.  He  saw  possibilities  of  fruitfulness  where 
one  who  loved  men  less  could  discern  but  small  hope  of 
development.  Every  soul  when  once  consciously  related 
to  God  in  Christ  must  be  consciously  related  to  man  in 
Christ.  The  visible  society  of  the  Church's  congregation 
was  a  living  organism,  and  so  he  welded  together  people 
of  every  grade  and  sort  into  a  socially,  as  well  as  reli- 
giously, happy  whole. 

But  every  man  has  individual  capacity  and  gifts,  and 
Mr.  Satterlee  considered  it  to  be  the  builder's  duty  to 
fit  each  stone  of  the  living  temple  into  its  place.  His 
conception  of  a  parish  was  of  a  company  of  workers  as  well 
as  of  worshippers.  Long  before  the  word  " service"  was  as 
highly  exalted  as  it  is  now,  the  people  of  Zion  Parish 
were  taught  to  live  its  meaning.  It  was  no  forced  and 
artificial  "something  to  do'  which  he  sought  for  each 
of  his  parishioners.  He  selected  and  distributed  accord- 
ing to  fitness  as  he  was  able  to  measure  it.  The  people 
of  Zion  Parish  felt  that  each  had  his  part  to  play  in  a 
harmonious  whole.  Accordingly  there  were  numerous 
departments,  each  consisting  as  far  as  possible  of  con- 
genial people. 

The  result  of  this  work  of  a  master  builder  was  what 
you  would  expect.  An  enlarged  and  beautified  church 
building,  a  home  for  working  girls,  and  a  parish  house. 
Mr.  Satterlee's  method  was  as  true  as  the  spirit  which 
set  it  in  operation.  He  had  also  that  high  trust  in  human 
nature  which  is  necessary  to  construction  and  organiza- 


1 882]  SETTING  LINE  AND  PLUMMET  73 

tion.  Having  determined  upon  the  right  person  to 
control  a  given  department  of  work,  he  did  not  worry 
his  own  mind  by  that  which  forthwith  became  the 
responsibility  of  his  co-worker.  If  it  is  possible  to  trust 
men  too  well,  this  was  Mr.  Satterlee's  fault.  But  no  one 
could  do  the  work  he  did  without  an  almost  unlimited 
trust.  And  it  is  interesting  that  men  who  trust  strongly, 
as  well  as  generously,  are  not  often  disappointed.  At 
any  rate  Mr.  Satterlee's  life  of  trust  at  Wappinger's 
Falls  was  wholly  justified  in  its  fruit. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    BUILDER   AT   WORK 

Ministry  at  Calvary  Church,  New  York 

1882-1885 

He  builds  the  State  who  to  that  task 
Brings  strong,  clean  hands,  and  purpose  pure; 
Who  wears  not  virtue  as  a  mask; 
He  builds  the  State  that  shall  endure. 

RICHARD   WATSON    GILDER 

CALVARY  Parish  has  had  an  interesting  and  distin- 
guished history.  It  was  founded  in  1836  during 
the  episcopate  of  Dr.  Onderdonk,  at  a  time  when 
the  future  metropolis  was  a  city  of  about  250,000  people, 
most  of  whom  lived  to  the  south  of  14th  Street.  The 
uptown  houses,  residences  "worthy  to  be  compared  with 
the  palaces  of  Europe,"  were  those  in  Waverley  Place 
(recently  so  named  after  the  famous  author  of  the 
Waverley  Novels),  Lafayette  Place,  Bond  Street,  and 
Bleecker  Street.  "Residences  as  well  as  business  houses, 
clustered  around  the  City  Hall,  and  the  Battery  was 
still  a  fashionable  promenade."1  North  of  14th  Street 
the  population  was  small  and  scattered  until  you  reached 
Harlem.  A  cattle  pasture,  streams  and  a  pond  occupied 
the  territory  in  the  vicinity  of  25th  Street.  Just  north 
of  what  is  now  Madison,  then  known  as  Murray,  Square 
was  "Sunfish  Pond'  where  the  boys  bathed.  Among 
the  trees  still  standing  (1886)  are  some  swamp  willows 
which  once  fringed  one  of  the  creeks  which  fed  the  pond. 
"Between  New  York  and  Harlem  were  a  few  small 
settlements,  at  Yorkdale,  Bloomingdale,  and  Manhattan- 
ville.,,     But    there    were    not    more    than    11,000    people 

1  Calvary  Parish,  1836-1886,  by  G.  L.  Prentiss,  Jr. 


1885]  THE   BUILDER  AT  WORK  75 

between  14th  Street  and  the  Harlem  River.  Between 
14th  Street  and  21st  Street  there  was  a  scattered  popula- 
tion of  perhaps  4,000,  chiefly  on  the  west  side. 

In  1835  a  group  of  people  of  missionary  spirit,  though 
living  elsewhere  in  the  city  felt  that  a  church  should  be 
built  in  the  region  of  30th  Street,  anticipating  the  growth 
of  the  city  in  the  one  direction  in  which  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  it  could  grow.  They  secured  five  years'  lease 
of  the  necessary  land  and  erected  a  small  building. 
Bishop  Onderdonk's  sermon  at  the  consecration  of  the 
church  (January  I,  1837)  contains  an  interesting  passage, 
even  though  his  mode  of  expressing  himself  was  ponderous 
and  quaint: 

Calvary  Church  is  situated  on  Fourth  Avenue,  near  30th 
Street,  at  a  great  distance  from  any  house  of  worship.  The 
population  around  it  is  rapidly  increasing,  and  was  giving  most 
serious  manifestations  of  the  want  of  the  wholesome  moral  influ- 
ence of  the  Gospel.  In  view  of  this,  a  few  pious  and  enterprising 
individuals,  principally  young  men,  determined  on  an  effort  to 
rear  a  temple  and  an  altar,  where  the  blessing  of  those  services, 
ordinances  and  instructions  might  be  diffused  around. 

The  corporation  of  Calvary  Church  was  formed,  and  the  edi- 
fice erected.  It  is,  indeed,  a  little  and  humble  one;  but  like  a 
"little  one"  of  old,  it  may  prove  a  rest  and  a  refuge  to  many 
who  are  in  danger  of  perishing  —  "She  hath  done  what  she 
could." 

While  time  was  passing  in  discussing  the  expediency  of  erect- 
ing a  large  and  handsome  church,  and  casting  about  for  the  ways 
and  means,  and  ascertaining  how  it  would  best  answer  worldly 
views,  the  opportunity  of  doing  the  great  good  now  imperiously 
called  for  in  this  section  of  the  city,  might  have  been  lost. 

Our  brethren  of  Calvary  Church,  therefore,  acted  wisely. 
They  did  what  they  could.  They  seized  the  present  moment, 
and  erected  a  neat  and  commodious  temple,  of  dimensions  pro- 
portioned to  the  probable  means  before  them.  The  zeal,  devo- 
tion and  disinterestedness  which  they  manifested  gave  to  that 
temple,  I  doubt  not,  a  merciful  acceptance  at  its  dedication  to 
God,  naught  diminished  by  its  want  of  outward  magnificence. 
I  have  heard  of  this  enterprise  having  been  slightingly  spoken 


76  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1882 

of.  This  was  undeserved.  A  place  of  worship  was  greatly 
needed.  Present  and  prospective  means  would  not  admit  of  one 
more  costly,  and  I  am  happy  thus  to  express  my  entire  con- 
viction of  the  Vestry's  doing  as  they  did.1 

The  new  parish  had  wide  bounds.  Calvary  was  the 
only  church  of  any  sort  in  the  whole  neighborhood. 
It  was  designed  to  be  a  free  church  but  fell  dismally 
short  of  the  ideal.  The  Rev.  Francis  H.  Cuming  was 
the  first  rector.  So  far  as  attendance  was  concerned  a 
favorable  beginning  was  made,  but  financial  affairs 
were  dark.  In  1840  upon  the  expiry  of  the  lease  of  the 
property  on  which  the  church  stood,  it  was  decided  to 
move  to  the  corner  of  Fourth  Avenue  and  22nd  Street. 
The  growth  of  the  parish  was  steady  until  in  1845  the 
present  site  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  Avenue  and  21st 
Street  was  purchased,  and  Calvary  Church  and  rectory, 
as  they  now  stand,  were  built,  Mr.  James  Renwick  being 
the  architect.  The  building  was  completed  in  1847. 
It  was  large  and  the  attendance  continued  to  increase 
steadily  but  financial  embarrassment  held  the  parish 
back.  In  addition  to  the  mortgage,  debt  was  increased 
by  the  inability  of  the  congregation  to  meet  current 
expenses.  Various  expedients  were  resorted  to  in  an 
endeavor  to  lift  the  load  of  debt  but  without  much 
success.  This  was  the  darkest  hour  in  the  history  of 
the  church  and,  if  Trinity  Parish  could  have  responded 
to  the  request  to  take  over  Calvary  as  one  of  its  chapels, 
it  would  have  lost  its  identity,  and  to  a  large  extent 
forfeited  the  power  of  character  which  is  the  direct 
product  of  persevering  effort  in  the  face  of  difficulty, 
and    of   the    acceptance    of   independent    responsibilities 

1  The  Bishop's  Convention  address  for  this  year  (1837)  contains  the  follow- 
ing passage:  —  "Festival  of  Circumcision  of  our  Lord,  January  1st.  Consecrated 
Calvary  Church,  New  York,  a  small  but  neat  and  commodious  edifice,  eredled 
by  the  Parish  recently  organised,  in  a  part  of  the  city  peculiarly  destitute  of  the 
means  of  moral  and  spiritual  culture,  and  over  which,  I  am  happy  to  say,  it  is 
exerting  an  influence  that  must  be  gratifying  to  the  Christian,  the  churchman, 
the  good  citizen,  and  the  friend  of  man." 


Pi 

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1 88s]  THE  BUILDER  AT  WORK  77 

incurred  by  being  true  to  a  spiritual  vision.  Legislative 
restrictions  hindered  Trinity  from  entertaining  the  request. 

"In  December,  1849,  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
apply  to  the  Legislature  to  amend  the  act  providing  for 
the  incorporation  of  religious  societies,  in  order  that  the 
restrictions,  already  referred  to,  which  prevented  Trinity 
from  taking  Calvary  as  a  chapel  might  be  removed." 
Special  legislation  was  accordingly  enacted  but  happily 
Trinity  declined  the  proposal  made  by  Calvary,  though 
for  six  months  the  clergy  of  Trinity  Church  assumed 
responsibility  for  the  ministrations  at  Calvary. 

In  1850  the  Rev.  Francis  L.  Hawks,  D.D.,  became 
rector,  uniting  with  Calvary  the  Church  of  the  Mediator 
on  Fourth  Avenue  and  8th  Street,  of  which  he  was 
incumbent. 

A  new  plan  to  rid  the  church  of  its  burden  of  debt,  was  en- 
tirely successful. 

All  the  pew  owners  surrendered  their  deeds,  and  on  October 
31st.,  1850,  an  auction  sale  of  all  the  pews  was  held.  The  for- 
mer pew  owners  were  credited  with  the  value  of  their  old 
pews  in  buying  new  ones,  but  a  large  enough  sum  was  obtained 
to  settle  all  the  obligations  of  the  church  then  outstanding. 

Calvary  Parish,  therefore,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Rec- 
torship of  Dr.  Hawks,  was  at  last  free  from  debt,  and  able  to 
devote  its  entire  energies  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  had  been 
founded. 

For  almost  the  first  time  in  its  history,  it  had  no  liabilities 
which  there  were  not  assets  to  meet,  and  it  escaped  from  a  con- 
dition fatal  to  the  greatest  power  for  good  of  any  church,  and 
which  had  nearly  been  fatal  to  the  existence  of  Calvary. 

It  was  only  through  the  exertions  of  a  few  persons,  whose 
memory  must  always  be  held  in  memory  and  affection,  that 
Calvary  Church  maintained  its  existence. 

This  method  of  setting  Calvary  free  from  financial 
trouble  did  not  commend  itself  to  the  consciences  of  all 
men.  An  after  generation  scored  it  roundly.  In  review- 
ing the  past  Dr.  Satterlee  at  the  close  of  his  rectorate  at 
Calvary  refers  to  this  fact  of  her  history  in  plain  language. 


78  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1882 

He  rejoiced  over  the  fact  that  she  had  resisted  the 
temptation  to  follow  the  stream  of  wealth  and  move 
uptown,  and  he  offset  her  constancy  against  her  amal- 
gamation with  the  Church  of  the  Mediator  and  the 
traffic  in  pews  of  1850.  "Calvary  has  suffered  from  that 
episode,  but  by  refusing  to  move  up-town  she  has,  we 
hope,  atoned  for  her  past  sin,  and  by  refusing  to  unite 
with  any  other  dying  parish,  and  accepting  the  proceeds 
of  the  sale  of  the  latter  for  her  endowment  fund,  she 
has  not  taken  advantage  of  others'  failures."  "She  has 
not  raised  her  endowment  fund  by  uniting  with  other 
parishes.  Once  in  times  past  she  fell  a  prey  to  mercenary 
motives  (1 844-1 850),  and  the  memory  of  those  days 
still  lingers  in  the  remembrance  of  many  who  called  the 
forty  great  contributors,  who  took  the  forty  best  pews, 
'the  forty  thieves. '" 

Under  Dr.  Hawks's  leadership  the  parish  developed  in 
numbers  and  spiritual  power,  and  before  the  close  of  his 
rectorate  Calvary's  property  for  the  first  time  in  its 
quarter  of  a  century  of  life  was  freed  from  all  incum- 
brances. The  City  Mission  of  Calvary  Church,  begun 
in  1855,  was  the  first  missionary  enterprise  under  the 
direction  of  the  parish.  In  1859  Calvary  Chapel  was 
erected  on  23rd  Street  near  Third  Avenue,  "to  be  dedi- 
cated as  and  for  a  free  Chapel  for  worship." 

Upon  Dr.  Hawks's  resignation  on  account  of  failing 
health  in  1862,  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Coxe,  D.D.,  became  rector 
until  he  was  consecrated  Assistant  Bishop  of  Western 
New  York  in  1865.  It  was  during  this  period  that 
Mr.  Satterlee  began  his  associations  with  the  parish  over 
which  he  was  later  to  preside.  He  was  one  of  many 
who  came  under  the  powerful  influence  of  Dr.  Coxe,  an 
influence  which  lives  in  Calvary  to  the  present  moment. 

The  next  rector  was  also  a  man  of  unusual  powers, 
a  scholar,  a  preacher,  and,  in  contradistinction  to  his 
famous  predecessor,  one  of  the  most  pronounced  of  the 
men  who  ushered  in  the  broad  school  of  churchmanship. 
He  was  a  recognized  leader  in  ecclesiastical  circles,   and 


1885]  THE  BUILDER  AT  WORK  79 

his  progressive  spirit  always  found  him  in  the  advance 
guard  of  thought.  He,  in  company  with  a  few  other 
kindred  souls,  conceived  and  worked  out  a  plan  for  an 
annual  meeting  of  churchmen  to  discuss  the  subjects 
of  the  day.  The  first  of  such  meetings  was  held  in 
Calvary  Church  and  has  since  crystallized  into  the  Church 
Congress.  Dr.  Washburn  knew  Mr.  Satterlee  and  held 
him  in  high  esteem  and  affection.  Before  he  was  finally 
selected  other  clergymen  were  chosen  but  declined. 
They  were  all  men  who,  like  himself,  afterwards  achieved 
great  distinction,  and  were  celebrated  as  among  the 
foremost  preachers  in  North  America.  The  Rev.  W.  R. 
Huntington,  D.D.,  then  rector  of  All  Saints,  Worcester, 
Mass.,  and  afterwards  rector  of  Grace  Church,  New  York; 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Sullivan,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Algoma;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Carmichael,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Montreal; 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Greer,  then  rector  of  Grace  Church, 
Providence,  R.  I.  (the  present  Bishop  of  New  York), 
in  turn  declined  the  proffered  honor.  A  congrega- 
tion who  had  had  a  distinguished  preacher  aimed  to 
find  a  successor  of  the  same  sort.  Not  that  these 
clergymen  had  not  other  gifts,  but  they  were  known 
first  of  all,  as  thinkers  and  preachers.  They  were 
without  exception  low  or  broad.  The  past  rectors  had 
been  of  varied  affiliations  though  none  was  an  ex- 
tremist, excepting  Dr.  Washburn,  whose  sympathies 
ran  with  Dean  Stanley,  who  was  a  guest  in  his  house 
during  his  visit  to  America,  and  for  whose  thought  he 
had  profound  respect. 

Dr.  Satterlee  (Union  College  conferred  on  him  a  D.D. 
this  year)  took  charge  of  his  new  parish  the  second 
Sunday  after  Easter,  1882.  What  he  found  confronting 
him  is  best  recorded  in  his  own  words: 

There  were  seventy  vacant  pews.  At  first  the  vestry  wanted 
to  sell  the  property,  then  estimated  at  $250,000  and  move  up- 
town, but  after  long  discussions,  in  which  the  Rector  took  an 
adverse  position,  it  was  decided  to  remain.  Little  or  nothing 
was  done  in  the  way  of  church  work  for  one  year,  for  I  did  not 


80  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1882 

know  what  to  do  or  how  to  move.  .  .  .  The  decision  to  remain 
was  made  upon  the  following  grounds:  first,  Calvary  has  been 
historically  conne&ed  with  the  locality  where  the  church  now 
stands,  since  the  earlier  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  as 
it  was  the  first  church  organisation  of  any  Christian  denomina- 
tion east  of  Broadway  and  north  of  14th.  St.,  it  has  become 
identified  with  the  neighborhood.  The  parish  has  been  sted- 
fastly  laboring  for  over  fifty  years  in  this  field,  and  the  number- 
less associations  connected  with  these  missionary  efforts  are 
lingering  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  with  power.  Second,  if 
Calvary,  with  such  prestige  and  influence,  had  left  the  position 
she  occupied,  it  was  highly  improbable  that  any  new  church 
organisation  would  come  to  take  her  deserted  place. 

The  determination  to  remain  necessitated  a  re-study 
of  the  situation.  If  Calvary  was  to  be  merely  an  oppor- 
tunity for  people  of  leisure,  ecclesiastically  and  theologi- 
cally like-minded,  to  share  in  public  worship  once  or 
twice  a  week  and  enjoy  the  privilege  of  listening  to 
eloquent  preaching,  the  old  location  would  not  serve  the 
purpose.  But  there  was  always  a  missionary  leaven 
in  Calvary  from  the  very  beginning,  and  it  was  this  that 
leavened  the  whole  lump.  If  the  community  did  not 
fit  the  Church,  then  the  Church  must  be  made  to  fit 
itself  to  the  community.  This  was  the  new  reclor's 
task,  and  he  set  to  work  with  no  preconceived  ideas,  but 
with  the  determination  to  know  what  was  required  and 
then  to  apply  his  powers  to  doing  it. 

The  organ  was  then  in  the  west  end  gallery  with  a  chorus 
choir,  the  men  of  whom  went  out  and  smoked  during  the  ser- 
mon. A  high  fence  surrounded  the  Church.  The  only  services 
were  Sunday  morning  and  afternoon.  All  other  services  except 
perhaps  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  in  Lent  and,  I  believe,  even 
Ascension  Day  once,  were  held  in  the  Sunday  School  Chapel, 
certainly  the  only  celebration  of  the  Communion  was  on  the 
fourth  Sunday  of  the  month,  except  Christmas,  Easter  and 
Whitsunday,  when  there  were  extra  celebrations  of  the  Feast. 

The  altar  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  apse,  and  the  chancel  rail 
enclosed  the  whole  choir  space,  making  it  look  like  a  big  parlour, 


i88s]  THE   BUILDER  AT  WORK  81 

with  two  chairs  in  the  lower  part  and  five  in  the  upper.  The 
congregation  called  themselves  very  broad  church  in  these 
days. 

If  there  was  much  stagnation  and  a  lack  of  parochial 
coherence  in  the  present  there  were  two  things  in  her 
past,  both  already  adverted  to,  which  sounded  the 
key-note  of  Dr.  Satterlee's  administration  —  "Calvary 
was  started  a  free  Church  in  1836,"  and  her  character  at 
the  beginning  was  missionary. 

There  were  three  groups  of  people  to  whom  Calvary 
owed  a  duty  —  the  traditional  parishioners,  many  of 
whom  lived  at  a  distance,  the  wage  earners  of  the  vicinity 
who  had  the  chapel  as  their  spiritual  home,  and  the 
submerged  and  neglected  whose  purlieus  lay  on  the 
eastern  confines  of  the  parish.  The  earliest  duty  was  to 
instil  the  spirit  of  service  into  the  existing  parish,  to 
startle  the  supine  into  vitality,  and  to  make  the  worship 
of  Sunday  the  stimulus  of  the  practical  religion  of 
Monday. 

The  matter  of  worship  was  taken  in  hand  at  once. 
Looking  back  over  his  ministry  in  Calvary  he  was  able 
to  say  in  1896:  — 

Calvary  has  been  a  praying  church.  Every  Sunday  we  have 
had  celebrations  of  the  Eucharist.  Surely  a  blessing  must  come  to 
every  parish  which  begins  its  work  with  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
Every  weekday  we  have  had  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer, 
that  which  the  father  of  our  country  himself,  George  Washing- 
ton, called  (in  his  private  devotions)  "the  daily  sacrifice,,,  and 
for  twelve  years  it  has  been  the  practise  and  rule  for  all  the 
clergy,  including  the  Re&or,  to  attend  the  Morning  Prayer.  Let 
this  weekly  Eucharist,  this  daily  sacrifice,  never  cease  hereafter 
in  Calvary  until  Christ  comes  again.  Let  the  door  of  the  church 
be  open  for  all  comers  throughout  each  day,  affording  to  all  the 
rest  and  peace  of  the  san&uary. 

Feeling  the  desirability  of  building  the  communicants 
together  in  a  community  of  effort  with  "the  objecl:  of 
seeking    greater    holiness    of    life,"    the    Communicants' 


82  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1882 

Union  for  Church  and  Chapel  was  formed.1  Dr.  Satter- 
lee's  sentiment  led  him  both  in  his  former  parish  and 
in  Calvary  Chapel  to  the  establishment  of  a  Maundy 
Thursday  evening  Communion,  followed  on  Good  Fri- 
day night  by  the  annual  devotional  meeting  of  the 
communicants. 

Thus  were  his  first  energies  bent  upon  building  a 
spiritual  temple  of  his  people.  And  having  given  first 
heed  to  relating  his  flock  to  the  Good  Shepherd,  or  to 
be  true  to  the  original  simile,  to  fitting  in  the  living 
stones  upon  the  one  Foundation,  he  threw  upon  them 
the  full  weight  of  their  responsibility  to  one  another. 
His  parish  must  be  a  parish  of  workers.  His  experience 
in  Wappinger's  Falls  enabled  him  with  comparative  ease 
to  choose  his  leaders.  His  assistant  clergy,  among  whom 
were  numbered  such  men  as  the  Rev.  Floyd  W.  Tomkins, 
now  Reclor  of  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Philadelphia,  the 
Rev.  W.  S.  Emery,  now  Rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Concord,  N.H.,  the  Rev.  F.  B.  Howden,  now  Bishop  of 
New  Mexico,  and  the  Rev.  B.  Brewster,  now  Bishop  of 
Western  Colorado,  found  in  him  that  personal  sympathy 
and  trustfulness  that  always  bring  out  in  response  the 
best  that  is  in  a  man.  Mr.  Satterlee's  big  manhood 
won  to  him  men  of  his  own  type.  Seeing  the  capacity 
of  some  one,  he  would  quickly  enlist  his  energies  in  a 
suitable  task.  But  the  momentary  difficulty  was  that 
Calvary  had  not  a  growing  generation  of  churchmen. 
The  original  supply  was  ageing  and  had  not  been  re- 
plenished. As  one  of  Mr.  Satterlee's  older  clerical 
friends  put  it:  —  "The  congregation  is  made  up  of  tall, 
full-grown  pines  such  as  Clarence  Seward,  David  W. 
Field,  Senator  Evarts,  like  the  forests  of  Georgia.     There 

1  "This  is  composed  of  all  the  Communicants  of  the  Parish  who  send  their 
names  to  the  Clergy,  pledging  themselves  by  God's  help:  (i)  To  receive  the  Holy 
Communion  frequently  —  as  often  as  circumstances  permit  and  the  sense  of  duty 
calls.  (2)  To  use  the  Parish  Colled  daily,  remembering  especially  the  work  of 
the  Church,  Chapel  and  Galilee  Mission  in  private  intercessions.  (3)  To  endeavor 
to  read  the  word  of  God  daily.  (4)  To  strive  to  remember  every  morning,  in  an 
adt  of  devotion,  the  responsibility  resting  upon  them  as  communicants." 


1885]  THE   BUILDER  AT  WORK  83 

are  no  saplings,  no  undergrowth.  It  is  for  you  to  see 
that  saplings  are  planted. "  And  he  did.  There  quickly 
rallied  round  him  a  group  of  strong  men,  young  in 
aspiration,  and  for  the  most  part  young  in  years,  such  as 
Mr.  George  Zabriskie,  Mr.  Alexander  M.  Hadden,  Mr. 
Spencer  Aldrich,  Mr.  George  Gordon  King,  Mr.  F.  W. 
Rhinelander.  Mr.  Hadden  says  of  his  relationship  with 
him: 

With  some  relations,  I  began  visiting  Calvary  Church  when 
I  was  about  30  years  old,  a  man  not  overoccupied  in  business, 
going  about  in  society  and  somewhat  of  a  club  man.  The  then 
redor,  Dr.  Satterlee,  interested  me.  I  felt  he  was  very  much 
overstrained  in  his  work,  and  one  day  I  went  to  him  and  asked 
if  I  might  not  come  in  the  mornings  when  he  opened  his  mail 
and,  if  there  were  any  letters  I  might  reply  to,  that  I  might  do 
so  for  him.  My  feeling  at  the  time  was  a  desire  to  help  someone 
somehow,  but  I  knew  myself  to  be  quite  unequal  to  be  of  much 
service.  The  result  of  this  offer  to  Dr.  Satterlee,  was  that  I  was 
his  volunteer  private  secretary  without  salary,  for  over  three 
years.  It  was  not  long  before  I  found  myself,  rather  unwill- 
ingly, the  President  of  the  Tee  To  Turn  Workingmen's  Parish 
Social  Club  of  over  300  members.  We  had  4  billiard  tables,  2 
bowling  alleys,  weekly  dances,  cooperative  store,  etc.  We  sup- 
ported the  club  and  paid  to  the  parish  a  half  rental  for  the 
premises.  Two  and  a  half  years  the  members  stood  aloof,  but 
after  that  fully  supported  the  clubs  in  every  way  and  worked 
hard  for  the  organization  as  being  theirs.  Quite  unwillingly  I 
was  persuaded  by  Dr.  Satterlee  to  join  the  parish  chapter  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew  and  in  that  I  learned  other  than 
a  humanitarian  way  to  work  for  and  with  men.  Dr.  Satterlee 
trusted  one  so,  when  he  asked  a  person  to  do  any  work  in  the 
parish,  that  no  man  could  fail,  in  trying  to  be  worthy  of  the 
confidence  placed  in  him  and  in  working  his  hardest  to  make 
his  especial  responsibility  a  success.  When  Dr.  Satterlee  gave 
you  something  to  do,  he  made  you  feel  that  work  was  yours,  and 
he  always  trusted  you  and  left  it  entirely  with  you  and  in  your 
hands.  I  never  felt  any  one  understood  me  quite  the  way  Dr. 
Satterlee  did.  He  always  had  such  a  reverence  for  another  man's 
inner  self  that  he  never  asked  roughly  what  one  believed,  nor 
did  he  ever  pry  into  any  man,  or  force  his  confidence.     He  made 


84  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1882 

one  feel  that  he  was  always  ready  to  advise,  when  you  asked 
for,  needed,  or  desired  advice.  It  didn't  appear  necessary  to 
explain  yourself  to  him,  for  he  seemed  to  understand.  He  never 
needed  somehow  to  tell  you  he  was  sorry  for  you,  or  that  he 
sympathized;  he  just  made  you  feel  that  he  did.  He  once 
wrote  a  letter  to  me,  to  tell  me  to  have  confidence  in  and  patience 
with  myself,  and  then  a  letter  once  at  time  of  bereavement,  in 
which  he  just  said  how  he  had  felt  at  a  similar  time  in  his  own 
life.  He  was  continuously  refusing  to  let  any  man  lean  on  him 
and  always  pointing  a  man  upward  and  onward.  That  one's 
life  had  to  be  his  own  individually,  and  not  a  copy  of  another's, 
was  his  teaching  always.  He  was  essentially  shy  and  reserved  in  his 
temperament  and  no  prominence  that  came  to  him  was  enjoyed. 
It  always  seemed  to  me  that  he  resigned  himself  to  be  conspicu- 
ous when  he  found  he  had  to  be.  One  instance  I  recall,  when 
he  at  first  made  up  his  mind  he  would  never  have  his  photo- 
graph taken  in  his  bishop's  robes.  When  persuaded  that  it  was 
expedient,  he  consented.  I  was  with  him  at  the  photographer's, 
when  he  went  through  the  ordeal:  it  made  him  anything  but 
happy,  or  proud.  He  had  a  way  of  listening  always  to  your 
opinion  and  was  in  the  habit  of  asking  what  one  thought,  even 
when  a  man  was  quite  sure  that  he  (the  Bishop)  had  wiser  and 
better  judgment  than  any  that  could  be  suggested. 

Mr.  (now  the  Rev.)  J.  F.  Turner  was  a  layman  of  the 
parish  from  1 889-1 896.  He  was  struck  by  the  extraordi- 
nary power  Dr.  Satterlee  possessed  of  winning  loyalty. 
His  instin&ive  trust  always  made  men  heighten  their 
own  self-respect,  and  they  met  loyalty  with  responsive 
loyalty.  He  was  constantly  thinking  of  how  to  employ 
the  people  of  his  flock.  A  servant  himself,  he  was  a 
creator  of  servants. 

As  Dr.  Satterlee  was  leaving  Calvary  he  wrote  to  his 
wardens  and  vestry: 

I  do  not  know  of  any  other  church  in  the  City  of  New  York 
which  has  a  larger,  more  substantial  body  of  young  men  workers, 
between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  forty,  and  these  are  ready  to 
stand  in  the  breach  and  shoulder  very,  real  burdens.  Some  of 
them  (notably  the  Mission  Board),  understand  the  work  as  well 
as  I  do;    others  are  willing  to  do  all  they  are  fitted  to  do.     My 


1885]  THE  BUILDER  AT  WORK  85 

going  away  will  make  them  realize  their  responsibility: — just 
as  the  undergrowth  starts  up  in  the  open  when  the  overshadow- 
ing older  trees  are  cut  down.  The  men  we  ha^e  are  all  of  the 
right  stamp,  and  perhaps  a  change  of  re&ors  will  bring  out  this 
source  of  strength. 

His  preaching  at  this  period,  as  indeed  always,  was 
uneven.  But  it  was  invariably  a  simple,  unaffected 
effort  to  unveil  some  aspect  of  truth  which  was  clear  to 
his  own  mind.  There  was  no  padding.  Consequently 
there  was  always  something  to  heed.  Frequently  it  was 
little  more  than  the  thinking  out  aloud  of  a  man  who 
walked  with  God.  Mr.  William  B.  Dana,  founder  and 
editor  of  the  New  York  Commerical  Chronicle,  a  Con- 
gregationalism heard  Dr.  Satterlee  preach  a  sermon  on 
faith.  He  was  surprised  at  its  power  and  characterized 
it  as  a  "superb  address. "  Dr.  Satterlee  never  counted 
preaching  as  an  end  in  itself,  an  accomplishment  to  be 
displayed,  but  always  as  an  instrument  to  be  used  for  the 
promotion  of  God's  purpose.  From  the  knees  to  the 
pulpit  was  his  method.  His  largest  preparation  for 
preaching,  especially  in  his  later  life,  in  the  full,  anxious 
days  of  his  episcopate,  was  devotional.  On  one  occasion 
when  a  brother  bishop  was  called  upon  in  an  emergency, 
without  opportunity  for  direct  preparation,  to  undertake 
the  opening  service  of  the  Annual  Convention  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew,  Dr.  Satterlee  said  after  it 
was  over:  —  "During  the  first  part  of  your  address  I 
was  praying  for  you,  and  then,  when  I  saw  you  were 
all  right,  I  gave  full  attention  to  what  you  were  saying/' 

Reference  has  been  made  to  Dr.  Satterlee's  power  as  a 
spiritual  recruiting  officer  among  men.  It  was  not  less 
among  women.  Like  all  high-minded  characters  he 
looked  much  to  the  sympathy  and  comradeship  of 
women.  His  man's  nature,  by  the  constant  and  lofty 
exercise  of  faith,  had  been  disciplined  from  bald  intel- 
leclualism  into  that  intuitive  acuteness,  which  women 
possess  as  a  matter  of  birthright  rather  than  of  training. 
This   gave   him    a   tie   with   womanhood   that   established 


86  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1882 

and  maintained  friendship  on  a  high  plane.  As  his  life 
is  unfolded  in  these  pages  the  beauty  and  intimacy  of 
such  relationships  will  declare  themselves  without  an 
index  finger  to  direct  attention  to  them.  His  larger 
energies  were  spent  upon  the  service  of  men,  but  he  also 
won  the  choicest  women  to  the  cause  for  which  he  stood. 
Early  in  Calvary  days  a  woman,  whose  life  had  been 
heavily  burdened,  met  with  a  final  blow  in  the  death  of 
her  only  son.  Her  faith  staggered  and  she  drifted  out 
into  the  gloom  of  unbelief.  She  was  persuaded  to  see 
Dr.  Satterlee.  With  his  wise  and  understanding  sympa- 
thy he  threw  a  ray  of  hope  into  her  life.  She  began  to 
attend  church  to  hear  him  preach.  He  invited  her  to 
come  to  his  Monday  meeting  of  workers  among  the  poor. 
By  degrees  her  faith  reasserted  itself  as  an  active  force 
impelling  her  to  service.  She  was  a  bright  woman  and 
brave  as  a  lion.  Her  own  deep  troubles  roused  her 
sympathy  for  the  desolate.  In  the  New  York  Tribune 
of  March  2,  1902,  part  of  the  story  of  how  her  work 
began  is  recorded: 

"The  work  found  Mrs.  Foster,  not  Mrs.  Foster  the  work,"  said 
a  friend  of  hers  yesterday.  It  began  about  fourteen  years  ago, 
during  the  lifetime  of  her  husband,  a  lawyer,  whom  she  had 
aided  occasionally  in  his  work.  Her  laundress  came  to  her  one 
morning  with  a  pitiful  story  of  her  young  brother's  arrest  for  a 
theft  of  which  he  was  innocent.  Mrs.  Foster  looked  carefully 
into  the  circumstances,  was  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the 
woman's  story  and  went  at  once  to  the  court  and  asked  to  see 
the  justice,  who  knew  her.  He  heard  her  version  of  the  case,  and 
as  a  result  of  her  intercession  the  boy  was  acquitted.  While 
sitting  by  the  justice,  she  asked  about  a  girl  in  the  courtroom 
who  was  weeping.  The  justice  explained  the  case,  admitted  that 
he  was  baffled,  and  asked  Mrs.  Foster  to  talk  with  the  girl.  She 
did  so,  and  requested  the  privilege  of  investigating  the  case 
further.  The  justice  consented  and  remanded  the  girl  until 
Mrs.  Foster  could  be  heard  from.  When  her  report  was  pre- 
sented it  was  so  clear,  that  the  poor  girl  was  more  wisely  dealt 
with  than  could  have  been  possible  under  ordinary  circumstances. 
From   that  time  when   the  justice  was   especially   puzzled   with 


1885]  THE   BUILDER  AT  WORK  87 

the  cases  of  people  whom  he  thought  it  might  be  possible  to 
help  upward,  he  sent  for  Mrs.  Foster.  After  her  husband's 
death,  when  she  devoted  herself  to  the  work,  many  other  justices 
came  to  do  the  same  thing.  For  many  years  it  has  not  been  an 
infrequent  occurrence  for  the  presiding  justice  in  one  of  the  city's 
criminal  courts  to  call  from  the  bench,  "Is  Mrs.  Foster  in  the 
room?"  Before  long  she  was  identified  with  work  among  the 
abandoned  and  criminal.  Drawing  a  deep  breath  of  spiritual 
inspiration  each  day  at  the  services  of  the  church,  she  went 
from  worship  to  the  Tombs  to  wash  Christ's  feet  in  the  person 
of  neglected,  wronged,  sinning  womanhood,  and  to  bring  light 
to  those  who  sat  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death.  She 
became  one  of  the  most  influential  and  trusted  women  in  prison 
work  that  New  York  has  ever  known.  She  had  a  calming  influ- 
ence over  wild  natures,  and  was  able  to  coax  back  to  life  atro- 
phied emotions.  Once  she  asked  a  woman  going  to  the  Tombs 
if  she  could  help  her.  The  woman  refused  but  directed  her  to  a 
poor  girl  who  had  just  begun  a  life  of  shame  in  a  house  of  ill- 
fame.  As  time  went  on  Mrs.  Foster's  work  became  systematized. 
She  began  before  there  were  juvenile  courts,  probation  officers 
and  that  discrimination  in  the  treatment  of  offenders  against  the 
law  which  is  only  now  reaching  a  high  degree  of  intelligence. 
The  courts  were  impatient  of  outside  suggestion  or  intervention. 
But  her  personality  soon  won  her  the  favor  of  the  judiciary. 
"Mrs.  Foster  did  not  interfere  indiscriminately  in  behalf  of  all 
manner  of  criminals,  but  devoted  herself  to  young  men,  boys 
and  women,  and  for  the  past  ten  years  few  women  have  been 
sentenced  in  the  Court  of  General  Sessions,  whose  cases  have 
not  been  investigated  by  the  *  Tombs  Angel.'"1 

Here  is  a  sample  day's  work  in  Mrs.  Foster's  own 
words: 

I  began  at  9  a.m.  in  the  vestibule  of  Calvary  Church,  where 
seven  persons  were  awaiting  me.  To  two  I  gave  money  for  food, 
to  one  rent  money,  and  to  two  orders  for  shoes.  The  others  I 
took  to  superintendents  of  two  department  stores  for  positions. 

Then  to  the  Court  of  Special  Sessions,  for  the  case  of  B.  H. 
(previously  investigated),  accused  of  petty  larceny,  whose  sen- 
tence was  shortened  to  only  thirty  days.     Met  in  the  corridor  a 

1  From  an  obituary  notice  in  the  New  York  Times. 


88 


A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1882 


young  woman,  homeless  and  penniless,  with  a  month-old  baby 
in  her  arms,  whose  husband  had  just  been  sentenced  for  three 
months,  and  paid  $2  rent  until  I  can  get  her  work. 

In  the  Court  of  General  Sessions,  four  cases:  M.  C,  aged 
nineteen,  had  stolen  £5,  her  first  crime.  Inquiry  proved  previous 
good  character,  and  she  was  let  off  with  ten  days.  A.  B.,  seven- 
teen, suspected  of  stealing  ring,  was  discharged  in  my  custody. 
I  took  her  to  her  mother,  who  will  report  to  me  regularly. 
M.  N.,  when  drunk,  had  broken  a  window.  As  it  was  her  first 
offence  she  was  allowed  to  go  on  suspended  sentence,  and  her 
mother  took  her  home.  M.  B.,  twenty,  servant,  accused  of  theft. 
I  had  found  all  her  employers  for  her  three  years  in  this  country 
willing  to  take  her  back,  but  as  the  court  considers  household 
thieves  a  most  dangerous  class  I  was  able  only  to  get  her  sentence 
shortened   to    three   months,    on   the   ground    of   previous  good 

record. 

Next,  in  District  Attorney's  office,  was  promised  speedy  trials 
for  three  cases  in  prison.  Then  to  Seventeenth  St.  and  Tenth 
Ave.,  and  to  Eighty-seventh  St.  and  Columbus  Ave.,  inquiring 
characters  of  two  girls  whose  cases  are  to  come  up  to-morrow. 

I  then  returned  to  the  DistriA  Attorney's  office  by  his  re- 
quest, to  consult  about  a  young  girl,  a  victim  of  the  'cadet 
system."  Saw  the  girl  there,  only  sixteen,  pretty  and  igno- 
rant, an  easy  prey  to  vicious  designs.  Took  her  to  St.  Barnabas 
House,  where  she  will  be  safe,  and  whence  I  will  take  her  back 
and  forth  daily  to  court  till  her  trial  is  over,  and  afterward  I  will 
care  for  her  as  long  as  she  needs  help,  and  until  she  can  get 
work.  Then,  summoned  by  prison  ward  officer  to  Bellevue 
Hospital,  to  see  a  young  girl  just  brought  in  for  having  attempted 
suicide.  She  was  unwilling  to  talk  until  the  nurse  explained  who 
I  was,  when  she  readily  confided  all  her  griefs  to  me.  I  com- 
forted her  as  best  I  could,  and  promised  to  stand  by  her  in  court 
when  tried,  and  to  ask  the  judge  to  put  her  in  my  care. 

Then  home,  at  6  p.m.,  to  find  a  subpoena  server  waiting  with 
two  subpoenas  for  me  to  serve  on  two  women  I  had  taken  into 
my  care  on  parole  eight  months  before,  agreeing  to  produce  them 
in  court  when  needed.  As  they  were  wanted  the  next  day,  I 
dined  hurriedly  and  went  to  No.  106  Essex  St.  and  No.  82 
Eldridge  St.,  served  the  subpoenas,  arranged  to  meet  the 
women  in  court  next  morning,  and  returned  home,  my  day's 
work  done. 


1885]  THE  BUILDER  AT  WORK  89 

Her  courage  was  prompt  and  unflinching.     If  she  saw 
a  child  entering  a  saloon,  in  a  moment  she  would  be  by 
its  side  at  the  bar  asking  for  the  number  of  the  saloon 
keeper's  license.     Her  devotion  to  the  man  who  trusted 
her   back   to    belief  was    such    that,    when    Dr.    Satterlee 
went  to  Washington,  she  said  that  if  she  could  serve  him 
by  so  doing  she  would  walk  to  him  in  bare  feet.     Her 
devotion  to  him  found  chief  articulation  in  her  devotion 
to   the    bruised    and    enfeebled    of  Christ's    flock.     When 
Dr.    Satterlee    removed    to   Washington,    he    organized    a 
group    of    parishioners     and     friends    into     an     auxiliary 
society  known  as  the   Friends   at  Court,  who  aided  her 
in   her  labors   by  lightening   her  financial   responsibilities 
and  otherwise  supporting  her.     Her  end  came  tragically 
and    gloriously    in    the    fire    of    1902    which    burned    the 
Park  Avenue  Hotel  where  she  was  living.     Mrs.  Rebecca 
Salome    Foster    may    be    forgotten    under    that    name; 
but  she  will  long  be  remembered  as  the  "Tombs'  Angel." 
There  were  others   like   Mrs.    Foster,   who   owed   their 
creative  power  and  a  life  of  conspicuous  service  to  Dr. 
Satterlee's    influence,    but    there    were    a    multitude    of 
hidden  servants  enlisted  by  him  in  the  activities  of  life 
in    Christ.     His    organizing   genius    began    to    operate    as 
soon  as  he  succeeded  in  getting  a  clear  vision  of  oppor- 
tunity   and    duty.     His    impatience    of   details    had    this 
beneficent  efTecT:.     It  threw  the  responsibility  for  minutiae 
where    it    belonged  —  on    others,    which   was    one    of  the 
secrets  of  his  power. 

He  had  in  view  three  things:  —  I.  To  bring  the  Gospel 
to  those  who  would  not  come  to  receive  it,  to  compel 
men  to  come  in.  2.  To  practise  in  Church  life  the  funda- 
mental equality  of  all  as  children  of  God  —  he  deprecated 
the  separation  of  classes  of  people,  without  desiring  or 
believing  that  all  distinctions  between  class  and  class 
should  be  obliterated.  3.  To  provide  for  a  proper  shrine 
and  support  for  the  operations  of  the  life  of  the  Spirit 
in  parochial  setting. 

In  1883  the  Galilee  Mission  was  founded,  being  among 


9o  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1882 

the  pioneer  efforts  to  reach  the  negledted,  squalid  popula- 
tion of  the  East  Side.  His  work  among  the  poor  was 
begun  in  connection  with  the  Associated  Charities,  but 
his  evangelical  ardor  chafed  under  the  religious  neutrality 
of  the  society.  Nevertheless  it  proved  an  education  and 
was  the  starting  point  of  all  the  East  Side  work  of  the 
parish.  When  the  Galilee  Mission  was  started  on  First 
Avenue,  as  Dr.  Satterlee  afterwards  wrote  in  a  Year  Book: 

The  neighborhood  was  so  bad,  that  22  panes  of  glass  were 
broken  in  the  windows  while  service  was  going  on,  and  I  had  a 
jagged  end  of  a  bottle  thrown  at  me  while  I  was  speaking  one 
night.     The  mission  service  was  a  sort  of  Methodist  experience 
meeting  adapted  to  the  Church.     When  we  found  that  it  was 
necessary  to  create  a  new  environment  for  men,  influenced  by 
the  Mission,  there  grew  up  gradually  and  one  by  one,   (1)  the 
Lodging   House  or  Olive  Tree   Inn;     (2)    Free   Reading   Room; 
(3)  the  Coffee  House;    (4)  the  Galilee  Mission;    (5)  the  Tee  To 
Turn  or  Working  Men's  Club;    (6)  the  Parish  Gymnasium  and 
Bowling  Alley;    (7)  the  Tea  Store;    (8)  the  22nd.  St.  Tenement 
House.     We  soon  found  that  while  we  could  give  the  Gospel 
free  to  all,  we  could  not  give  anything  else  (except,  perhaps,  a 
free  dinner  on   such   days   as  Thanksgiving   and   Christmas)   to 
men,  without  pauperizing  them.     We  discovered  that  even  the 
Free   Reading   Room   was    abused    by   loafers.     One   year,   the 
attendance  was  51,000,  but  that  year  it  was  largely  used  as  a 
lounging  place  for  "rounders,"  so  we  had  to  charge  for  every- 
thing but  the  Gospel.     Thus  we  drifted  into  the  system  of  co- 
operation, which  I  now   believe  to  be  the  only   solution  of  the 
"tramp"  question,  and  even  that  of  helping  the  poor  at  large. 
Indeed,  this  is  the  way  in  which  God  deals  with  us  all. 

The  Rev.  S.  M.  Cooke  who  built  up  this  work  was  an 
instance  of  Dr.  Satterlee's  ability  to  seledt  wisely  his 
co-workers.  He  himself  was  actively  interested  in  the 
services  of  the  Galilee  Mission,  and  after  Evensong  on 
Sundays  would  be  found  there  exercising  the  ministry  of 

the  Word. 

He  was  free  in  his  methods.  He  saw  at  once  that 
liturgical  worship  needed  to  be  supplemented,   and  that 


1 885]  THE  BUILDER  AT  WORK  91 

rules  and  traditions  established  for  and  in  one  set  of 
conditions  could  not  be  applied  to  that  which  was  ab- 
normal, without  being  not  only  ineffective,  but  even 
ludicrous,  to  a  man  possessed  of  any  sense  of  humor. 
The  "simple  Gospel  service"  in  his  hands  was  a  source 
of  power.  The  letter  that  killeth,  in  literal  obedience  to 
every  rubrical  detail,  irrespective  of  the  fitness  of  it, 
was  more  dominant  then  than  now,  and  Dr.  Satterlee's 
use  of  unconventional  methods  did  not  escape  criticism. 
There  were  men  then  as  now  who,  though  having  gained 
a  measure  of  true  liberty  along  a  given  line  of  progress, 
became  examples  of  arrested  development  and  called 
those  disloyal  who  took  a  further  step  along  the  same 
path  which  they  themselves  had  trodden.  To  his  life's 
end  he  grew  with  the  growing,  and  seldom  chafed  under 
the  progress  of  thought  that  was  novel  to  him.  Negation 
roused  his  ire:  affirmation  stimulated  his  mind  where  it 
failed  to  win  him. 

The  master  builder's  instin&s  set  him  sketching  out 
plans  for  material,  as  well  as  for  spiritual,  construction. 
Property  was  needed  for  the  East  Side  work.  He  had 
no  money  but  that  did  not  deter  him.  A  business  man 
naturally  inquires,  how  far  a  spiritual  leader  should 
make  a  venture  of  faith  in  the  acquisition  of  property. 
Dr.  Satterlee  considered  that  financial  or  material  ob- 
stacles should  not  deter  him  from  action,  in  the  face  of 
what  he  deemed  to  be  obvious  duty,  any  more  than 
moral  or  spiritual  difficulties.  Consequently  he  took 
enormous  risks.  He  might  make  himself  liable  for 
#50,000  with  only  $1,000  in  hand.  But  he  did  not  take 
such  adtion  lightly.  Probably  (Bishop  Satterlee's  private 
diary  in  connection  with  the  National  Cathedral  amply 
bears  witness  to  the  facT)  no  weight  presses  so  heavily 
upon  a  leader  in  moral  and  spiritual  affairs  as  a  debt. 
It  has  irrecoverably  crushed  many  a  man.  Whenever 
Dr.  Satterlee  became  responsible  for  the  expenditure  of 
a  large  sum  of  money,  he,  so  to  speak,  underwrote  the 
liability,  giving  himself  and   his  powers  as  security.     To 


92  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1882 

use  his  own  phrase,  "he  mortgaged  his  life.'3  And  he 
always  was  conscientious  in  his  effort  to  redeem  his 
pledge  to  God  and  to  men.  Like  the  saint  of  old,  he 
believed  his  pittance,  married  to  God  and  faith  in  His 
working,  would  be  fruitful  enough  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  the  need.  His  commitment  of  himself  was  seldom 
precipitate.  He  carried  the  cross  before  he  was  nailed 
to  it..  But  opportunity,  such  as  this  clear-eyed  man  saw, 
long  before  it  was  visible  to  other  eyes,  is  impatient  and 
must  be  seized  by  the  forelock.  "Many  a  valuable 
opportunity  has  been  lost  in  this  world,'5  he  wrote  in 
1886,  the  50th  anniversary  of  the  parish,  "simply  from 
want  of  foresight  and  the  lack  of  a  sense  of  responsibility, 
regarding  future  times.  And  this  is  a  fact  to  be  recog- 
nized pre-eminently  in  the  history  of  American  churches 
and  American  parish  life." 

Dr.  Satterlee  was  well  aware  that  in  committing  him- 
self to  a  given  project  he  was  committing  others.  But 
he  did  so  deliberately.  A  leader  must  involve  his 
followers  in  salutary  troubles,  even  when  they  are  not 
wholly  convinced  of  their  salutariness.  He  was  anxious 
to  have  counsel,  but  if  his  own  judgment  in  the  end  went 
adversely  to  that  of  his  advisers  he  took  the  advice  of 
Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach  and  trusted  himself.1  Irritation 
and  opposition  were  much  allayed  among  those  who  did 
not  wish  to  move  as  rapidly  as  he  advised,  by  the  fact 
that  his  business  judgment  was  usually  considered  good. 
If  he  ran  risks,  they  were  apt  to  be  legitimate  risks  and 
not  those  of  a  speculator.  If  his  impatience  over  details 
tripped  him  up,  so  that  for  instance  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  keep  the  accounts  of  the  rector's  fund  to  an 
accountant's  satisfaction,  his  broad  view  of  affairs  kept 
him  from  serious  financial  mistakes. 

On  the  other  hand  let  it  be  said  in  this  connection 
that  what  Dr.  Satterlee  could  do  successfully,  because  of 

1  "Make  the  counsel  of  thy  heart  to  stand;  for  there  is  none  more  faithful  unto 
thee  than  it.  For  a  man's  soul  is  sometime  wont  to  bring  him  tidings,  more  than 
seven  watchmen  that  sit  on  high  on  a  watch-tower."  —  Ecclus.  xxxvii,  13,  14. 


1 885]  THE   BUILDER  AT  WORK  93 

his  personality  and  genius  for  friendship,  others  of  a 
different  type  and  with  no  such  breadth  of  relationships 
as  were  his,  could  not  do  except  disastrously.  That 
which   may   be  one   man's  wisdom  can   become   another 

man's  folly. 

Early  in  his  life  in  New  York  he  made  manifest  his 
power  of  leadership.  One  who  became  a  close  friend 
tells  of  a  meeting  of  clergy  representing  the  larger  city 
parishes  at  which  the  newly  installed  rector  of  Calvary 
was  present.  The  question  under  discussion  pertained 
to  Church  extension.  After  it  had  been  carefully  con- 
sidered it  was  determined  to  abandon  the  scheme  as 
presenting  too  many  obstacles.  As  the  vote,  the  result 
of  which  would  clearly  have  been  in  the  negative,  was 
about  to  be  taken,  a  young  man,  but  recently  introduced 
into  the  ranks  of  city  redlors,  rose  and  startled  his 
seniors  by  saying:  "Brethren,  you  have  overlooked  a 
very  important  point  in  this  discussion  —  you  seem  to 
have  made  no  allowance  for  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit."  His  tone  and  manner  were  such  as  to  win 
confidence.  The  sentiment  of  the  meeting  was  completely 
reversed,  and  it  was  unanimously  decided  to  proceed 
with  the  difficult  undertaking.  Thus  it  was  that  Dr. 
Satterlee  revealed  himself  to  be  first  of  all  a  spiritual 
leader.  With  all  his  practical  qualities  he  had  in  him 
much  of  the  mystic.  This  letter  to  Mrs.  Percy  R. 
Pyne,  one  of  his  dearest  friends,  reveals  how  the  mystical 
appealed  to  him: 

Sept.  11,  1884.  —  I  return  to  you  by  this  mail,  with  many 
thanks,  the  life  of  Molinos  which  you  so  kindly  lent  me.  I  read 
it,  with  more  pleasure  even  than  I  anticipated  and  parts  of  it 
I  read  twice.  The  Quietist  movement  interests  me  greatly.  It 
sets  forth  very  plainly  and  very  helpfully  one  phase  of  the 
spiritual  life,  but  it  is  one-sided.  Its  weakness,  I  think,  is  that 
it  dwells  too  exclusively  on  the  interior  life,  and  its  consequent 
tendency  is  to  isolation  and  transcendentalism.  Christianity 
is  half  subjective  half  objective  in  its  character,  but  alas,  how 
hard  it  is  for  us  all  to  draw  the  line  —  or  know  where  to  draw 


94  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1882 

the  line  —  between  the  two.     The    Ritualists    and   the  Roman- 
ists go  to  the  one  extreme;   the  Quietists  and  Quakers  to  the 

other. 

Have  you  read  the  Life  of  Maurice?    The  second  volume  is 
to  me  one  of  the  most  interesting  books  I  have  read  for  years. 

New  York  at  this  time  had  outstanding  men  in  the 
Church's  life  and  work.     The  aged  Bishop,  Dr.  Horatio 
Potter,  was  the  stern  Nestor  of  his  clergy;    the  Redor 
of  Grace  Church  was  the   Rev.   Dr.  H.   C.   Potter,  soon 
(in  1883)  to  be  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  R.  Hunt- 
ington upon  the  former's  assuming  the  position  of  Assist- 
ant Bishop  of   New  York;    at  Trinity    Church  was  the 
Rev.    Dr.    Morgan    Dix,    the   leader   of  the   high    church 
party;    the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  S.  Rainsford  began  his  ministry 
at  St.  George's  in  1883;    the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Rylance  of 
St.  Mark's,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Houghton  of  the  Transfigura- 
tion, the  Rev.  Dr.  Arthur  Brooks  of  the  Incarnation,  the 
Rev.   Dr.   E.   Winchester   Donald   of  the  Ascension,   the 
Rev.  Dr.  H.  Mottet  of  the  Holy  Communion,  were  also 
among  Dr.  Satterlee's  contemporaries  in  the  various  New 
York  parishes.     Party  lines  were  more  positively  drawn 
thirty  years  ago  than  now,   and  theological  controversy 
sometimes  waxed  hot.     But  Dr.  Satterlee,  who  possessed 
all  the  fervor  and  definiteness  of  a  convinced  man,  was 
seldom  caught  in  the  toils  of  controversy.     He  had  warm 
friends  all  his  life  among  those  from  whom  he  differed, 
as    well    in    the    ranks    of   extreme    Protestants,    and    of 
Roman     Catholics     toward     whom     he     entertained     an 
ingrained    suspicion,    as    among    the    adherents    of    the 
various  schools  of  thought  in  his  own  communion. 

Two  years  after  Dr.  Satterlee  assumed  charge  of 
Calvary,  Zion  celebrated  its  fiftieth  anniversary  (Novem- 
ber 18,  1884)  in  which  he  took  part.  "The  anniversary 
rightly  commenced  (at  an  early  hour,  5.45  a.m.)  with 
that  most  sacred  service,  the  celebration  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  of  the  Altar.  It  was  a  quiet,  simple  service, 
the  rendering  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  Almighty 
God    for    His    great    goodness    in    bringing    to    pass    the 


1 885]  THE   BUILDER  AT  WORK  95 

results  that  the  half  century  of  the  parish  reveal.  This 
was  the  key  note  of  the  day's  services  —  deep,  earnest 
thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  who  'hath  so  done  His 
marvellous  works  that  they  ought  to  be  had  in  remem- 
brance. '  And  not  the  least  real  and  true  expression  of 
gratitude  was  that  early  communion  to  which  many 
came  before  the  early  hours  of  their  daily  toil."1 

In  the  evening  Dr.  Satterlee  was  among  those  who 
addressed  the  people.  He  "gave  a  brief  history  of  the 
past  of  the  parish,  and  its  leading  thought  was  based 
upon  our  Lord's  bidding  'Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of 
God  and  His  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you.'"2  It  was  because  they  had  sought 
first  to  do  God's  will  and  God's  work,  thinking  of  the 
honor  and  glory  of  our  Lord,  that  so  many  tokens  of 
Divine  love  had  been  theirs.  Bishop  H.  C.  Potter  in 
bidding  the  parish  God-speed,  told  his  hearers  that  they 
had  reason  to  be  proud  of  its  record.  Zion  Parish,  born 
under  an  apple  tree  and  cradled  in  a  corn  crib,  had 
grown  to  be  a  centre  of  influence.  Ideas  and  works 
initiated  there  had  gone  far  afield  to  the  strengthening 
of  the  Church's  life. 

The  evening  closed  with  a  reunion  of  parishioners. 
"Hospitality  abounded.  It  was  the  expression  socially 
of  the  motto  which  the  parish  has  adopted  and  illustrated 
so  completely  in  its  practical  and  benevolent  work,  as 
well  as  in  its  higher  spiritual  significance  —  'Endeavoring 
to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.' 

1  Historical  Notes,  Zion  Church,  1834-1884.  2  Ibid.  l  Ibid. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MORTAR   AND   TROWEL 

1885-1889 

Great  is  the  name 

Of  the  strong  and  skilled, 

Lasting  the  fame 

Of  them  that  build. 

HENRY   NEWBOLT 

THE  most  important  event  of  the  year  1885  in  New- 
York  church  affairs  was  the  Advent  Mission. 
Parochial  Missions  were  first  introduced  into  the 
United  States  some  twelve  years  earlier  by  the  Mission 
Priests  of  the  Society  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  but 
this  was  the  earliest  application  of  the  principle  in  an 
organized  way  to  the  whole  of  a  great  city.  It  attracted 
much  more  than  local  attention. 

Movements  in  the  Church  at  the  time  they  are  making 
their  deposit  assume  momentous  proportions.  They 
seem  to  the  promoters  and  their  opponents  so  all-im- 
portant as  to  overshadow,  for  the  time  being,  all  other 
considerations.  To  the  immediate  actors  they  are  great 
events.  We  who  come  after,  on  looking  back,  are  able 
perhaps  to  gather  up  the  whole  matter  in  a  sentence. 
The  Advent  Mission  was  the  mortar  that  joined  impor- 
tant stones  after  much  wielding  of  the  trowel.  The 
contribution  which  our  predecessors  then  made  to  the 
Church,  and  which  we  accept  so  much  as  a  matter  of 
course,  was  secured  at  great  cost.  If  it  seems  as  though 
undue  attention  is  given  in  these  pages  to  the  Mission 
and,  later  in  the  same  chapter,  to  the  reintroducftion  of 
the  office  of  Deaconess,  let  it  be  remembered  these  were 
great  questions  in  their  day,  and  worthy  of  all  the  effort 
and   interest   that   they   commanded.     The   history  of  a 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  97 

whole  life  of  patient  investigation  is  often  summed  up  in 
a  scientific  word  or  a  theological  phrase. 

Among  the  most  ardent  advocates  of  the  mission  was 
the  Rector  of  Calvary.  In  an  article  in  Harper  s  Weekly 
(November  28,  1885)  he  outlines  its  methods  and  purpose: 

Few  things  in  the  religious  life  of  this  country  during  the  last 
twenty-five  years  have  attracted  more  interest  than  the  mission 
services  to  be  conducted  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
of  the  Diocese  of  New  York.  Over  twenty  of  the  prominent 
churches  of  this  city  will  hold  from  three  to  six  services  daily, 
beginning  on  Sunday  the  29th  of  this  month,  and  continuing 
from  ten  to  sixteen  days.  And  this  interest  is  not  confined  to 
New  York,  nor  is  it  restricted  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  but 
other  dioceses  and  denominations  of  nearly  every  religious  creed 
are  watching  with  interest  this  somewhat  radical  movement 
undertaken  in  the  largest  and  busiest  city  of  the  land,  and  by 
this  old  and  conservative  Church. 

It  is  natural  to  ask  why  it  is  that  the  Episcopal  Church  enters 
into  a  work  so  opposite  to  its  old  formulated  customs  and  wor- 
ship. Many  people  look  upon  the  mission  with  distrust  and  sus- 
picion. Some  say  that  it  partakes  too  much  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  practice;  others,  that  it  is  too  much  on  the  Methodist 
revival  order;  while  still  others  object  that  it  is  an  adoption  of 
English  methods  and  of  customs  which  are  foreign  to  American 
life.  But  a  glance  at  the  history  of  the  Church  will  furnish  un- 
doubted proof  that  such  mission  work  is  not  confined  to  any 
one  age  or  body  of  Christians,  but  is  as  old  as  Christianity  itself, 
and  the  spread  and  growth  of  the  Church  of  England  have  been 
largely  due  to  the  great  missionary  efforts  in  every  age  of  her 
history.  The  Episcopal  Church  can  claim  notable  precedents 
for  the  work  on  which  she  has  so  zealously  entered.  Although 
it  may  be  a  new  departure  on  the  part  of  the  American  branch 
of  the  Church,  it  is  by  no  means  an  experiment  to  the  mother 
Church.  The  first  parochial  mission  in  the  city  of  London  took 
place  in  1869.  At  that  time  there  existed  in  the  minds  of  the 
English  churchmen  as  much  doubt  and  suspicion  in  regard  to 
such  a  movement  as  now  exists  among  American  churchmen. 
Seventy  churches  took  part  in  that  first  mission.  The  success 
of  such  an  experiment,  and  the  blessings  which  followed  those 
services,  were  of  such   a  character  that  it   received   the  cordial 


98  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1885 

approval  of  the  three  bishops  in  whose  dioceses  the  city  of  Lon- 
don was  at  that  time  situated  —  the  Bishops  of  London,  Win- 
chester, and  Rochester.  The  second  mission  in  that  city  was 
held  five  years  later,  and  five  years  after  that  the  third  mission 
was  held.  Last  winter,  surrounded  with  unmistakable  proofs 
of  divine  favor,  another  mission  was  held,  in  over  three  hundred 
churches  of  that  great  city. 

For  the  past  ten  years  a  few  clergymen  of  the  diocese  of  New 
York  have  been  anxious  to  hold  such  religious  services,  but  for 
several  reasons  were  unable  to  put  their  plans  into  practical 
shape.  But  in  May,  1883,  the  subject  was  openly  discussed  at 
a  meeting  of  the  Churchmen's  Club  in  this  city.  About  seventy 
members  were  present,  and  nearly  all  were  in  favor  of  entering 
into  the  work.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  upon  the 
bishop  of  the  diocese  to  acquaint  him  of  the  action  of  his  clergy. 
Such  an  interview  was  held  in  November  of  that  year,  and  the 
Right  Rev.  Henry  C.  Potter  gave  his  full  approval  and  sym- 
pathy to  the  mission.  He  appointed  a  committee  of  clergymen 
to  make  preparations  for  such  services,  and  in  making  these 
appointments  he  was  particularly  careful  to  have  every  shade  of 
churchmanship  represented.  Rectors  of  churches  who  thoroughly 
believe  in  and  who  practise  an  extreme  ritual  in  their  church 
services  were  made  equally  prominent  on  this  committee  with 
the  lowest  and  most  evangelical  churchmen  in  this  Diocese. 
The  broad  churchman  and  the  old  conservative  churchman 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  their  labors  with  all  the  zeal  of  old 
crusaders. 

This  committee  has  met  every  month  during  the  past  two 
years  to  discuss  and  prepare  the  many  and  varied  details  of  the 
responsible  work  before  them,  and  it  is  to  the  great  credit  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  that,  although  its  members  were  repre- 
sentatives of  all  the  various  schools  of  thought  in  the  Church, 
yet,  when  the  great  question  as  to  how  the  spiritual  life  of  their 
parishes  could  be  quickened,  they  were  a  unit  among  themselves, 
and  not  one  word  of  disagreement  has  ever  taken  place  to  mar 
the  harmony  of  all  their  deliberations. 

The  chief  object  of  this  parochial  mission  is  to  bring  home  to 
human  hearts  a  realization  of  the  presence  of  God,  and  to  pro- 
mote a  warmer  and  more  united  religious  feeling  and  faith,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  large  numbers  of  non-church-goers  will  be  drawn 
to  their  services,  and  thus  become  interested  in  the  Christian 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  99 

life  and  work.  It  is  not  merely  the  work  and  services  before 
and  during  the  mission  that  occupy  the  attention  of  the  parish 
clergy,  but  the  greater  and  more  important  feature  of  the  mis- 
sion will  be  what  may  be  called  the  "after  work."  It  is  intended 
that  an  individual  and  personal  interest  be  taken  in  those  who 
come  as  strangers  to  these  services,  and  who  evince  a  desire  to 
become  identified  with  the  parish  church. 

Four  prominent  English  missioners  gave  their  assist- 
ance —  the  Rev.  W.  Hay  Aitken,  the  Rev.  E.  Walpole 
Warren,  who  afterwards  became  Rector  of  Holy  Trinity, 
New  York,  the  Rev.  R.  B.  Ransford,  and  the  Rev. 
Francis  Pigou.  The  services  of  the  ablest  and  most 
experienced  preachers  in  the  United  States,  and  several 
from  Canada,  were  also  enlisted  to  carry  on  the  mission 
in  the  twenty  centres  where  it  was  held.  The  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  D.  S.  Tuttle,  Bishop  of  Missouri,  and  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  R.  W.  B.  Elliott,  Missionary  Bishop  of  Western 
Texas,  were  the  missioners  at  Calvary.  Bishop  Tuttle 
had  not  had  experience  in  conducting  parochial  missions. 
After  the  close  of  his  work  at  Calvary  he  wrote  to  the 
New  York  Churchman: 

It  was  with  the  utmost  fear  and  trembling  that  I  came  on  to 
New  York  to  take  part  in  this  mission.  Some  relief  and  courage 
came  to  me  from  the  knowledge  that  my  dear  friend  and  brother, 
the  Bishop  of  Western  Texas,  was  to  be  associated  with  me  in 
the  work.  I  feared  lest  the  unwholesome  impatience  characteriz- 
ing our  age  might  be  seizing  upon  churchmen;  and  lest,  for  vital 
forces  in  the  spiritual  life,  emotion  and  excitement  were  in  a  fair 
way  to  be  substituted  among  us  for  the  soberness  of  the  ways  of 
the  Church,  and  the  nurture  of  the  teachings  of  the  Prayer 
Book.  I  could  not  but  think  that  such  substitution  would  be  a 
calamity.  I  had  known  fields  burned  over  by  excitements  pro- 
moted by  some  phase  of  popular  religion  outside  the  Church. 
The  blackened  ashes  and  arid  wastes  are  not  such  good  things, 
one  must  conclude,  as  to  induce  thoughtful  Christians  to  employ 
excitement  for  a  healthful  spiritual  force.  And  if  "Missions" 
meant  that,  at  times  and  seasons,  spasms  of  growth  and  shouts 
of  change  are  to  take  the  place  of  faithful  pastoral  care,   and 


ioo  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1885 

steady  Christian  culture,  and  the  slow  and  sure  processes  of 
religious  edification,  then  would  "Missions'5  be  mistakes,  and 
their  results  disasters.  Personally,  also,  a  deep  and  shrinking 
dread  laid  fast  hold  upon  me  at  thought  of  being  a  missioner. 
Known  inexperience,  want  of  time  to  prepare,  and  reflection  of 
the  awful  harm  to  souls  that  may  be  wrought  by  weakness,  or 
unfitness,  in  the  leader  of  the  mission,  contributed  to  that  dread. 

Bishop  Tuttle,  after  observing  the  methods  and 
attending  the  services  of  one  of  the  English  missioners, 
took  up  his  work  with  Bishop  Elliott  at  Calvary  and 
carried  it  through  to  the  profit  of  the  parish. 

The  tangible  results  of  the  Mission  were  even  greater 
than  its  promoters  looked  for.  At  the  time  that  prepara- 
tions for  holding  it  were  being  made  Bishop  Potter  said: 
"Do  not  expect  too  much"  —  and  immediately  qualified 
it  by  adding:  "Do  not  expect  too  little."  In  addition 
to  a  renewal  of  spiritual  life  in  the  various  parishes 
there  were  other  valuable  results.  Special  noon-tide 
services  for  business  men  became  an  established  institu- 
tion at  old  Trinity.  Year  after  Year  Wall  Street  and  its 
vicinity  fills  the  fine  old  edifice  with  men,  to  snatch  from 
the  busy  day  a  half-hour  in  which  to  worship,  and  to 
listen  to  a  spiritual  message  from  the  lips  of  the  Church's 
leaders  of  life  and  thought. 

Bishop  Potter  called  the  Advent  Mission  "a  note- 
worthy event."  It  commended  itself  to  him  as  'an 
enlargement  or  expansion  of  ideas  that  are  inherent  in 
the  Christian  year,"  as  keeping  the  Word  and  Sacraments 
in  true  proportion,  and  as  an  appeal  to  the  conscience 
and  the  will,  instead  of  a  galvanic  attack  upon  the 
emotions.  "Though  few  people  know  it,"  he  continues 
in  an  article  in  the  Churchman  (December  26,  1885), 
"the  Mission  began  a  year  ago.  At  that  time  a  small 
band  of  clergymen  resolved  to  meet  together  once  a 
month,  or  oftener,  for  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion at  an  early  hour,  an  informal  devotional  meeting, 
and  a  subsequent  business  meeting.  That  resolution  has, 
with    a    brief   interval    in    the    summer,    been    faithfully 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  101 

adhered  to.  At  the  start  it  was  recognized  that  no  great 
spiritual  blessing  could  be  expected  without  earnest 
effort  to  open  the  way  for  its  coming.  There  have  been 
constant  prayer  and  work,  the  two  going  together  and 
extending  to  the  minutest  details."  The  teaching  value 
of  the  Mission,  the  personal  ministrations  used,  the 
success  in  reaching  "the  baptized  and  confirmed  who 
had  drifted  away  from  all  habits  of  religious  living/' 
the  informal  methods  of  a  larger  liberty  than  the  routine 
system  of  the  parish,  are  commented  on.  "Once  more, 
the  Mission  has  demonstrated  two  things:  the  power  of 
the  Church  to  reach  men,  and  the  value  of  trained 
missioners  as  preachers.  .  .  .  Finally  the  Mission  has 
deepened  the  faith  of  all  who  have  had  to  do  with  it  in 
the  Mission  and  power  of  God  the  Holy  Spirit. "  He 
closes  by  saying:  "I  have  no  prophecies  for  the  future; 
but  the  past  at  least,  is  secure.  This  much,  however,  I 
may  repeat,  the  Mission  has  come  to  stay.  The  com- 
mittee of  thirty  has  organized  itself,  within  the  past  few 
days,  into  a  'Parochial  Missions  Society.'  Dr.  Satterlee 
was  made  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Society,  and  throughout  its  useful  history  he  gave  it 
that  loyal  support  that  characterized  his  connection 
with  every  Society  that  once  succeeded  in  capturing  his 
interest. 

There  can  be  no  better  index  to  the  misgivings  with 
which  parochial  missions  were  viewed  at  this  date  than 
Dr.  Phillips  Brooks'  half-humorous,  half-serious  letter  to 
his  brother  in  which  he  treats  of  it.  Dr.  Brooks  was 
indirectly  responsible  for  securing  an  English  missioner, 
"awful  word!",  for  the  Church  of  the  Incarnation,  of 
which  his  brother  was  rector:  "Dear  Arthur,"  he  writes, 
"I  feel  as  if  I  were  taking  a  solemn  farewell  of  you  when 
I  see  you  plunging  into  this  mysterious  mission.  I 
wonder  to  myself  whether  I  shall  know  you  as  you  come 
out.  All  looks  very  interesting  about  it,  and  I  am  sure 
I  hope  and  pray  that  it  may  do  great  good."1 

1  Life  of  Phillips  Brooks,  Vol.  ii,  p.  581. 


102  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1885 

It  was  after  Dr.  Satterlee  had,  at  God's  bidding, 
surrendered  his  tools  to  other  hands  that  General  Con- 
vention (191 3)  adopted  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved.  That  this  Church  in  General  Convention  assem- 
bled registers  its  desire  and  will  to  undertake  a  preaching 
mission  of  nation-wide  proportions,  that  in  its  scope  shall  be  in- 
clusive of  the  Church  at  large,  and  whose  sole  purpose  and  aim 
shall  be  the  salvation  of  men  through  Him  whose  Name  is  above 
every  name. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  river  became  a  great  sea. 

In  1886  Calvary  celebrated  its  fiftieth  anniversary. 
Dr.  Satterlee  begins  a  survey  of  his  parish  by  comparing 
conditions  as  they  were  when  the  corner-stone  of  Calvary 
was  laid  in  1836  and  what  they  were  a  half-century  later. 
Calvary  had  already  become  a  down-town  church.  He 
expressed  the  hope  that  whatever  changes  might  take 
place  Calvary  would  be  loyal  to  the  neighborhood  and 
not  seek  some  more  favored  location.  An  increase  of 
workers  ready  to  give  "the  wealth  of  their  hearts  to 
Christ  and  His  work"  was  the  dominant  need.  "Our 
opportunities  are  enormous,  but  our  organization  is 
greater  than  our  working  forces.'3  But  material  needs 
were  pressing.  "Bricks  and  mortar  cannot,  indeed,  take 
the  place  of  Christian  effort.  The  Church  of  God  is  a 
spiritual  house,  not  a  material  building;  but,  still,  in  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  no  healthy  growth  is  possible 
unless  the  objective  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  subjective, 
and  the  proper  correlation  between  the  two  is  carefully 
preserved."  A  new  organ,  a  reconstructed  church  build- 
ing, a  Calvary  parish  house,  a  Calvary  mission  house  for 
the  East  Side  work,  a  permanent  summer  house,  and 
endowment  funds  were  advocated. 

Such  is  the  pi&ure  floating  to-day,  like  a  bright  vision  before 
our  minds,  as  we  look  forward  to  the  next  half-century  of  our 
parish  life.  And  as  we  gaze  upon  it  we  see  that  Calvary's  work 
has  but  begun.  No  longer  has  the  parish,  as  in  days  of  yore, 
to  battle  for  existence;   no  longer  has  she,  as  in  later  years,   to 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  103 

struggle  that  she  may  keep  that  which  has  been  committed  to 
her  trust.  She  has  made  for  herself  a  name  and  a  place  among 
her  sister  churches  in  America.  In  the  memories  of  the  great 
men,  whose  histories  are  interlinked  with  hers,  in  her  hallowed 
associations  of  the  past,  in  her  own  eventful  story,  and  in  the 
spiritual  force  and  influences  she  has  acquired  in  the  first  fifty 
years  of  her  existence,  there  is  stored  up  an  amount  of  energy  and 
a  power  that  stands  as  capital,  for  the  future  to  draw  upon; 
and  the  struggles  of  coming  days  will  be  how  to  seize  upon  and 
utilize  the  vast  opportunities  for  doing  God's  work,  which  now 
begin  to  be  within  her  reach.1 

It  was  upon  the  needs  of  Calvary  Chapel  and  the  East 
Side  Mission  work  that  he  laid  special  emphasis.  The 
parish  church  was  never  altered,  the  parish  house  was 
never  built  except  that  "the  corner-stone  was  laid  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people,,,  but  the  unselfish  projects  which 
aimed  to  touch  the  poor  and  the  outcast  moved  from 
strength  to  strength.  The  two  letters  following,  to  his 
friends  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W.  C.  Rives,  both  deal  with  the 
Galilee  Mission. 

TO    DR.    RIVES 

July  5,  1886.  —  I  have  just  written  to  Mrs.  Rives  in  answer 
to  her  letter  about  the  texts,  thanking  her  for  them  and  explain- 
ing to  her  somewhat  in  detail  the  present  condition  of  the  Galilee 
Mission.  Last  year  was  a  marked  one  in  the  progress  of  our  work 
at  Calvary  and  especially  as  regards  the  Galilee  Mission.  As  I 
now  look  back  upon  it,  and  contrast  it  with  the  preceding  year, 
the  change  is  not  only  very  perceptible  but  greater  than  I  had 
imagined,  and  I  feel  that  I  owe  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  you 
and  Mrs.  Rives  for  your  valuable  aid  and  self-denying  efforts 
for  that  work.  You  have  been  larger  factors  than  you  dream 
in  its  success.  Above  all  other  things  I  feel  that  our  united 
prayers,  first  in  the  Advent  Mission  and  then  in  the  continuation 
of  those  meetings  for  intercessory  prayer,  which  we  held  Sunday 
after  Sunday,  have  been  the  seed  of  faith,  which,  under  God  has 
produced  such  a  blessed  result.  It  is  true  that  we  have  had  in- 
numerable discouragements,  but  each  failure  has  been  on  the  line 
of  the  development  of  a  larger  plan.     Certainly  in  this  effort  of 

1  Calvary  Year  Book,  1 886. 


io4  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1885 

ours  to  reach  the  lowest  classes  we  are  striving  to  do  Christ's 
own  work.  If  the  problem  were  an  easy  one  to  solve  it  would 
have  been  solved  long  before  this,  and  it  has  only  been  be- 
cause of  these  innumerable  discouragements,  I  suppose,  that  it 
has  not  been  undertaken  before.  And  therefore  we  must  wait 
until  we  ourselves  are  sufficiently  educated  to  know  what  we 
should  do  or  not  do.  I  was  much  struck  by  what  Mr.  Gallatin 
said  when  I  told  him  how  I  mourned  over  the  apparently  useless 
expense  that  the  work  entailed.  He  said,  "Yes,  if  you  thought 
that  the  best  way  of  helping  the  poor  would  be  to  hire  a  bread 
cart  and  spend  all  your  funds  in  giving  loaves  to  the  people  on 
the  streets,  that  kind  of  charity  would  evoke  much  superficial 
sympathy,  but  if  your  united  judgment  and  wisdom  adopts 
another  method  which  seems  to  be  more  far  reaching  in  its 
effeds,  the  expense  cannot  be  useless."  I  am  quite  sure,  at  all 
events,  that  we  are  on  the  right  track,  and  if  we  can  find  a  way 
in  which  the  Episcopal  Church  can  reach  down  and  really  re- 
claim the  lower  and  even  the  lowest  classes,  it  will  be  worth  all 
the  discouragements,  failures  and  expenses  we  have  had  to  bear 
in  attaining  the  end.  .  .  . 

Poor  A is  not  the  man  we  thought  him,  he  has  been  de- 
ceiving us,  we  brought  him  face  to  face  with  his  wife  —  who 
seems  to  be  a  very  worthy  woman  —  last  week,  and  he  was 
indignantly  surprised.  However  we  have  not  lost  faith  in  him 
and    perhaps   we    can    eventually    by    kindness    and    sympathy, 

raise   him   up.      B ,   another   man   of  whom   we   have   great 

hopes,  a  year  before,  has  come  back,  all  broken  up  by  drink, 
but  he  has  come  back, —  that  means  a  great  deal. 

We  have  taken  our  new  mission  room,  for  one  year,  and  it 
seems  to  be  just  the  place  we  want.  Cool,  attractive,  with  an 
entrance  on  the  street,   and   the   attendance  is   correspondingly 

larger. 

We  are  here  at  the  old  home  in  New  Hamburgh,  and  I  trust 
that  sometime  we  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  welcoming  you 
and  Mrs.  Rives  to  our  little  cottage.  If  you  are  in  New  York 
this  summer,  you  must  certainly  come  to  New  Hamburgh. 

TO  MRS.   RIVES 

July  5,  1886. —  I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
kind  letter  which  has  just  anticipated  one  that  I  was  about  to 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  105 

write  to  you,  thanking  you  for  the  texts.  I  might  have  surmised 
that  the  mysterious  package  which  came  from  —  I  know  not 
where  —  contained  those  texts,  but  I  could  not  believe  that  you 
had  so  far  exceeded  my  thoughts  and  anticipations:  first,  in 
sending  the  texts  so  speedily,  and  second,  in  giving  us  such  large 
and  handsome  ones.  They  shall  all  soon  appear  on  the  walls 
of  our  new  room  and  no  one  can  tell  the  amount  of  good  they 
will  do.  I  believe  that  the  Holy  Spirit  often  takes  one  little 
sentence  or  promise  of  the  Gospel,  stores  it  away  in  the  memory 
and  then,  when  the  occasion  arrives  illuminates  it  with  a  spiritual 
meaning  that  seems  like  a  message  from  Heaven  to  many  a 
sinning  soul. 

We  are  now  in  our  new  room  as  you  know.  I  have  not  yet 
seen  it,  but  it  is  described  as  being  very  attractive,  the  attend- 
ance is  better  and  Mr.  James  is  beginning  to  be  not  a  little 
encouraged.  He  is  a  good  man  with  considerable  latent  power 
that,  I  am  sure,  will  show  itself,  as  he  becomes  familiarized 
with  the  work.  He  has  been  visiting  the  other  missions  of  the 
city,  and  also  the  hospitals,  alms  houses,  etc.,  and  by  the  time 
that  the  autumn  arrives,  I  think  he  will  be  in  possession  of 
information,  which  will  be  of  incalculable  assistance  not  only 
to  him,  but  to  us  all  in  the  work  that  we  have  before  us. 

We  have  made  some  progress  but  have  much  to  learn. 

I  suppose  you  have  heard  of  our  Lodging  House  Scheme.  We 
have  decided  to  embark  on  the  undertaking.  .  .  .  The  profits 
of  a  Lodging  House,  I  am  assured  by  those  who  have  had  experi- 
ence in  their  management,  would  be  #6000  a  year,  and  then  we 
have  the  rent  of  both  Galilee  Mission  and  the  Reading  Room 
to  fall  back  upon  as  these  would  occupy  the  lower  floor.  But 
even  if  all  these  fail  the  building  itself  is  one  that  can  be  easily 
rented.  It  is  bringing  in  a  rent  at  the  present  time  of  #4200 
to  Mr.  Horton.  I  mention  these  facts  to  you  and  Dr.  Rives, 
because  I  know  your  deep  interest  in  our  work,  and  because  I 
feel  that  you  both  will  join  your  earnest  definite  prayers  with 
mine,  every  day,  that  God  will  put  it  into  some  one's  heart, 
to  come  forward  and  assist  us  with  the  necessary  pecuniary 
aid.  If  the  plan  is  His  and  not  ours,  and  if  the  men's  Lodging 
House  is  as  valuable  an  adjunct  to  our  Free  Reading  Room 
and  our  Galilee  Mission  work  as  I  now  believe  it  to  be,  then  — 
according  to  our  faith  it  will  be  unto  us.  Some  way  will  and 
must  be  provided  for  the  carrying  on  of  this  work. 


I06  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1885 

This  year  Churchill  entered  Columbia  College  in  the 
Freshman  Class.  "The  recurring  attacks  of  rheumatism 
from  which  he  suffered  during  this  period,  and  which 
prevented  his  regular  attendance  upon  his  College  course, 
made  it  impossible  to  take  a  high  standing  in  scholarship, 
but  he  acquitted  himself  creditably  and  was  graduated  in 
due  course  with  his  class."1 

In  March,  1887,  Dr.  Satterlee  was  elected  Assistant 
Bishop  of  Ohio.  Bishop  Bedell  was  then  seventy  years 
of  age  and  resigned  two  years  later.  Dr.  Satterlee  came 
to  the  same  conclusion  that  his  advisers  counselled,  and 
decided  to  continue  at  Calvary.  The  sole  reference  to 
the  event  found  is  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Rives. 

TO  MRS.   RIVES 

March  22,  {1887).— I  am  distressed  to  hear  of  your  indis- 
position and  trust  that  a  few  hours  quiet  will  bring  back  your 
full  strength. 

It  is  due  to  you  and  Dr.  Rives  as  well  as  to  your  father's 
family  to  say  that  I  have  practically  made  up  my  mind  not  to 
leave  Calvary.  The  light  is  shining  more  and  more  clearly  upon 
the  plain  pathway  of  duty  and  outsiders  who  are  looking  upon 
our  parish  work  with  an  unprejudiced  eye  —  Bp.  Potter,  Bp. 
Williams,  Dr.  Dyer,  Drs.  Tiffany,  Harris,  Van  de  Water,  Hunt- 
ington, and  many  others,  even  Mr.  Tomkins,  tell  me  it  would 
be  wrong  to  leave.  This  is  the  voice  of  my  own  heart  and  more 
and  more  of  my  conscience  and  while  it  would  not  be  fair  or  cour- 
teous or  honest  or  true  in  the  sight  of  God  to  make  a  final  decision, 
until  I  have  seen  the  last  representative,  and  heard  the  last  word 
from  Ohio  —  I  am  as  sure  as  I  can  be  what  the  ultimate  issue 
may  be,  and  by  Saturday  night  my  answer  will  be  posted  declin- 
ing the  position  —  unless  a  perfect  revolution  takes  place  in  my 
present  convidtions  after  Dr.  Bodine  has  said  all  he  has  to  say. 
But  all  this  is  for  you  and  yours.  It  must  not  get  abroad.  The 
first  definite  word  must  be  the  word  to  the  authorities  in  Ohio. 

May  God  bless  you  for  what  you  have  done.  I  feel  to-day 
that  a  net  is  spread  over  my  heart  binding  me  to  Calvary  so 
that  I  could  not  leave  if  I  wanted  to  do  so.  And  I  have  never, 
never  wanted  to  do  so.      I  have  not  even  had  a  thrill  of  enthu- 

1  A  Fisher  of  Men,  p.  15. 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  107 

siasm  at  the  thought  of  sacrificing  my  all  for  a  work  in  Ohio. 
Nothing  but  deadness,  not  the  first  sign  of  a  cell  to  the  work 
there,  though  I  felt  all  along  that  I  must  know  all  the  details 
of  the  other  side  before  deciding. 

In  1888  the  present  Bishop  of  New  York,  then  Rector 
of  Grace  Church,  Providence,  R.I.,  was  called  to  St. 
Bartholomew's,  New  York.  Referring  to  this  event  Dr. 
Greer  writes: 

When  I  was  invited  to  the  rectorship  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
Church  I  came  on  to  New  York  for  the  express  purpose  of  con- 
sulting Dr.  Satterlee  about  it.  He  said  he  thought  there  was 
a  great  opportunity  in  that  parish  and  urged  me  strongly  to 
accept  the  call,  and  it  was  largely  due  to  his  advice  that  I  did  so. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Dr.  Satterlee  began  to 
take  an  active  interest  in  the  movement  to  give  dea- 
conesses an  official  recognition  and  standing  in  the 
Church.  In  England  as  early  as  1849  there  was  a  revival 
of  sisterhoods,  and  in  1861  the  first  deaconess  institution 
was  established.  Ten  years  later  certain  "  Principles  and 
Rules'  received  the  sanction  of  both  Archbishops  and 
seventeen  Bishops.  In  the  General  Convention  of  1871 
a  Joint  Committee  was  appointed  to  sit  during  recess 
and  to  report  to  the  next  General  Convention  "on  the 
expediency  of  reviving  in  this  Church  the  primitive  Order 
of  Deaconesses." 

The  Joint  Committee  reported  favorably  on  a  "Canon 
of  Deaconesses  or  Sisters"  to  the  General  Convention 
of  1874.  No  legislation  was  enacted,  and  a  new  Joint 
Committee  was  appointed  to  report  to  the  Convention 
of  1877.  The  new  Committee  in  introducing  a  revised 
Canon  say: 

They  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  present  any  extended  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  recognizing  by  canon  the  work  of  the  Deaconess. 
1  hat  office  is  in  actual  exercise  in  many  of  our  dioceses,  and  is 
gradually  being  extended  throughout  the  Church. 

The   only   question   now,   in   the  opinion   of  your  committee, 
is  as  to  whether  the  whole  subject  shall  be  left  to  the  judgment 


108  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1885 

of  individual  bishops  and  of  individuals  generally,  or  whether  it 
shall,  by  legislation  on  the  part  of  the  General  Convention,  be 
brought  under  the  guidance  and  control  of  the  general  Church. 
Your  committee  are  of  the  opinion  that,  for  more  reasons 
than  one,  it  is  best  and  most  expedient  that  the  General  Con- 
vention should  legislate  in  the  premises  —  first,  because,  in  their 
judgment,  it  is  due  to  the  earnest  women  who  are  willing  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  sacred  office  of  the  deaconess,  that 
they  should  receive  a  formal  recognition  of  their  office,  and  also 
be  taken  under  the  guidance  and  protection  of  the  laws  of  the 
Church.  It  is  within  the  knowledge  of  a  part  of  your  committee 
that  there  are  some,  even  now,  who  await  the  action  of  the 
General  Convention  before  consenting  to  enter  formally  upon 
the  exercise  of  the  office  of  a  deaconess.  And,  moreover, 
secondly,  your  committee  think  it  due  to  the  Church  that  it 
should  be  made  known,  as  it  can  only  adequately  be  made 
known,  by  formal  legislation,  what  is  the  nature  of  that  office, 
and  what  the  character  of  the  communities  or  sisterhoods, 
growing  up  under  its  exercise  for  which  she  is  willing  to  hold  her- 
self responsible.1 

Once  more  no  agreement  was  reached  and  a  third 
Joint  Committee  was  given  the  subject  to  consider. 
Up  to  now  one  of  the  main  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
legislation  was  that  Deaconesses  and  Sisterhoods  were 
included  in  a  single  Canon.  The  undesirability,  not  to 
say  impossibility,  of  attempting  this  was  recognized  by 
the  Joint  Committee  of  1877  who  prefaced  a  "Canon  of 
Deaconess,"  presented  for  adoption  in  1880,  with  the 
statement  that  they  considered  it  inexpedient  to  legislate 
on  the  subject  of  sisterhoods  at  that  time. 

The  House  of  Bishops,  however,  in  the  Convention  of 
1880  again  endeavored  to  combine  the  two  orders  in  a 
single  Canon  of  two  sections  under  the  title  "Of  Organized 
Religious  Bodies  in  the  Church."  The  result  was  a 
deadlock  between  the  two  Houses  and  the  whole  subject 
was  laid  on  the  table,   and  subsequently  referred  to  the 

1  This  and  subsequent  quotations  on  the  subject  are  from  a  paper  by  Dr. 
Satterlee,  afterwards  published  in  pamphlet  form,  entitled  The  Proposed  Canon 
on  Sisterhoods  and  Deaconesses. 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  109 

next  Convention.  In  the  Convention  of  1883  the  Com- 
mittee on  Canons  to  whom  the  proposed  Canons  were 
referred  brought  in  a  resolution  which  was  adopted  by 
the  Convention,  "that  it  is  inexpedient,  at  this  time,  to 
adopt  any  legislation  on  the  subject*  of  organized  religious 
bodies/' 

During  these  twelve  years  the  one  man  who  ably  and 
perseveringly  championed  the  cause  of  the  Deaconess  and 
urged  the  revival  of  this  primitive  order  with  the  Church's 
sanction  and  blessing,  was  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Huntington 
D.D.,  at  that  time  Rector  of  All  Saints,  Worcester,  Mass. 
His  convincing  dialectic  was  employed  in  the  House  of 
Deputies  to  this  end  unwearyingly  and  every  canon 
formulated  bore  the  mark  of  his  master-hand.  After  the 
General  Convention  of  1883  the  matter  looked  as  though 
it  were  shelved  so  far  as  legislative  action  was  concerned. 
At  the  Church  Congress  of  1885  Bishop  Doane  said: 
"For  the  present,  certainly,  and  I  think  for  all  time, 
the  General  Convention  had  better  not  legislate  on  the 
subject.  A  Diocesan  use  is  better."  The  Rev.  Thomas 
M.  Peters,  S.T.D.,  "would  have  sisterhoods  entirely 
untrammelled  to  pursue  their  own  course,  in  the  belief 
that  precisely  in  such  freedom  they  will  be  of  the  greatest 
good  in  the  world."  For  the  deaconess  he  advocated 
institutional  training  and  the  "highest  official  recognition" 
by  the  Church.  The  Rev.  A.  St.  John  Chambre,  D.D., 
who  spoke  at  the  same  Church  Congress,  did  not  wish 
any  hard  and  fast  distinction  made  between  sisters  and 
deaconesses.  "All  members  of  such  orders  should  be 
under  episcopal  supervision,  and  bound  by  canon  law." 
The  Rev.  A.  C.  A.  Hall,  S.S.J.E.,  deprecated  any  sugges- 
tion of  rivalry  between  sisters  and  deaconesses.  As  for 
legislation  this  represented  his  position:  "Let  the  Church 
at  large  legislate  for  religious  communities,  and  then  the 
individual  bishop  will  be  acting,  not  in  his  own  individual 
power,  but  as  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Church.  We  will 
obey  the  bishop  acting,  not  personally,  but  officially,  as 
the   mouthpiece   of  the  Church.     Whether   the   time   has 


no  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1885 

come  for  that  legislation  or  not,  is  not  for  me  to  say. 
I  believe  every  year  it  is  postponed  the  Church  will 
grow  in  experience  and  wisdom,  will  be  enabled  to 
legislate  more  wisely  and  with  greater  experience.  What 
I  say  is:  Don't  legislate  for  religious  communities  by  a 
committee  that  knows  very  little  or  nothing  about  the 
subject." 

No  action  was  taken  at  the  General  Convention  of 
1886.  But  it  was  about  this  time  that  Dr.  Huntington's 
untiring  efforts  were  reinforced.  Dr.  Satterlee  added  his 
strong,  intelligent  support;  and  in  New  York  Diocesan 
Convention  of  1888  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  S.  Rainsford  put 
through  a  memorial  to  General  Convention  "asking  them 
to  take  steps  for  the  revival  of  the  Primitive  Order  of 
Deaconesses."  Dr.  Satterlee's  pamphlet,  above  referred 
to,  clearly  states  the  causes  of  failure  in  the  past  and 
the  steps  to  take  to  insure  success: 

The  writer  was  not  a  member  of  either  of  these  Conventions, 
but  these  records  plainly  indicate  to  every  one  who  reads  them 
the  causes  for  the  failure  of  the  canon.    They  were  as  follows: 

1.  The  advocates,  on  the  one  hand,  of  an  Order  of  Deacon- 
esses, and  on  the  other,  of  Sisterhoods,  were  not  of  one  mind, 
and  had  so  little  sympathy  with  one  another  that  there  was  no 
possibility  of  such  concerted  action  between  them,  that  a  canon 
could  be  formulated  in  which  there  would  be  a  mutual  gain. 
The  dominant  thought  was  not  deaconesses  and  sisterhoods,  but 
deaconesses  versus  sisterhoods. 

2.  There  was  a  strong  wish  on  the  part  of  the  bishops  and 
others  that  the  canon  enacted  should  not  only  be  creative  in 
recognizing  and  organizing  woman's  work  in  the  Church,  but 
that  it  should  be  restrictive  and  disciplinary  in  confining  woman's 
work  to  certain  definite  and  clearly-marked  bounds. 

Also  the  desire  is  evident  on  the  part  of  some,  at  least,  to 
make  the  canon  itself  an  ex  post  fafto  law  in  legislating  about 
sisterhoods  that  were  already  in  existence,  and,  very  naturally, 
this  attempt  was  resisted  by  those  who  sympathized  with  their 
workings  and  wished  to  preserve  their  freedom. 

3.  Though  the  advocates  of  deaconesses  were  willing  to  leave 
sisterhoods    as   voluntary   organizations    and    omit    all    mention 


1 889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  in 

regarding  them  from  the  canon  itself  so  long  as  an  order  of 
deaconesses  was  recognized,  their  efforts  were  futile  because  it 
was  felt  that  the  Church  would  thus  commit  herself,  not  to  the 
recognition  of  deaconesses  and  sisterhoods,  but  of  deaconesses 
alone. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  views  of  different  members  of  the  con- 
vention upon  this  subject  of  woman's  work  were  so  antagonistic 
that  after  it  was  introduced  in  the  five  successive  conventions 
of  1871,  1874,  1877,  1880,  1883,  the  attempt  to  deal  with  it  was 
given  up  in  despair,  and  in  1886  the  question,  as  far  as  the 
writer  knows,  was  not  broached  at  all.  There  is  certainly  no 
record  of  any  attempt  to  legislate  upon  it,  in  the  journal  of  1886. 

These  lessons  of  the  past  are  valuable.  They  show  the  mind 
of  the  Church.  They  indicate  that  no  canon  on  the  organiza- 
tion of  woman's  work  in  the  Church  can  ever  be  enacted  unless 
it  is  formulated  in  broader  terms  and  advocated  in  a  more  gener- 
ous spirit  than  was  done  in  our  past  General  Conventions. 

The  only  canon  that  can  be  adopted  will  be  one  that  is  com- 
prehensive enough  to  harmonize  the  discordant  views  of  all 
who  are  interested  in  this  subject  of  vital  importance;  wide 
enough,  in  its  range,  to  embrace  all  phases  of  organized  woman's 
work  in  the  Church,  and  Catholic  as  the  needs  of  human  nature 
itself. 

Perhaps  it  is  well  that  heretofore  all  attempts  at  legislation 
have  been  unsuccessful,  for  the  thought  of  our  Church  legisla- 
tors was  not,  to  all  appearances,  sufficiently  ripened  to  produce 
a  canon  that  would  reflect  the  mind  of  the  whole  Church,  and 
if  one  had  been  enacted  it  might  have  been  constructed  on  too 
narrow  a  basis  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  times. 

He  proceeds  to  consider  the  call  to  be  a  Sister  and  that 
to  be  a  Deaconess  as  two  quite  distinct  vocations.  He 
favors  legislation  for  Sisterhoods. 

There  may  be  a  few  in  the  Church  who  rebel  under  any  re- 
straint, but  if  Sisterhoods  were  treated  generously  and  justly, 
the  majority  of  those  in  the  Church  who  sympathize  with  them 
would  undoubtedly  acquiesce  in  submission  to  the  Church's 
constituted  authorities. 

Turning  to  the  question  of  Deaconesses  he  says: 


II2  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1885 

Looking  back  upon  the  past  history  of  the  American  Church 
it  seems  a  strange  anomaly,  that  while  the  cause  of  Deaconesses 
has  been  much  more  popular  than  that  of  Sisterhoods,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  latter  has  prospered  while  the  former,  as  a 
rule,  has  failed. 

But  the  explanation  is  very  simple.  While  neither  Sisterhoods 
nor  Deaconesses  have  received  the  official  sanction  of  the  Church, 
sisterhoods  have  been  able  to  flourish  without  such  recognition, 
because  they  cast  over  their  several  members  the  protection 
and  prestige  of  their  order.  Not  so  has  it  been  with  the  dea- 
coness. Though  she  has  oftentimes  been  set  apart  by  her  bishop 
in  a  service  of  consecration  and  has  found  a  congenial  place  for 
a  time  in  laboring  under  some  sympathizing  rector,  the  only 
recognition  she  has  received  throughout  has  been  the  personal 
sanction  of  the  individual  bishop  or  rector.  This  gave  her  an 
official  position  so  long  as  she  remained  under  that  protection, 
but  the  moment  the  rector  moved  to  another  parish  or  the  bishop 
died,  her  status  was  changed  and  she  henceforth  became  a 
Deaconess  but  in  name,  to  be  popularly  known  as  a  professional 
Church  worker  whose  occupation  was  kindred  with  that  of  a 
Bible  reader,  a  parish  visitor  or  a  hospital  nurse.  We  all  are 
aware  in  what  light  such  professional  Church  workers  are  re- 
garded by  the  world. 

He  closes  his  valuable  paper  with  recommendations 
which  were  embodied  in  the  legislation  finally  enacted 
in  the  Canon  of  Deaconesses  (1889)  and  the  Canon  of 
Religious  Communities  (1913).  It  was  his  advocacy 
that  was  a  chief  factor  at  a  critical  moment  in  reviving 
this  important  matter  when  it  was  in  a  condition  of 
debility,  and  it  was  his  wisdom  that  played  an  important 
part   in   framing   the   Canon   of  Deaconesses    as   it   now 

stands. 

In  1901  a  practical  question  arose  touching  the  relation 
of  the  members  of  a  sisterhood  to  the  bishop  of  the  dio- 
cese in  which  they  were  working  that  drew  out  from  Dr. 
Satterlee,  then  Bishop  of  Washington,  his  mature  judg- 
ment. The  Superior  of  the  short-lived  Society  of  the 
Atonement  maintained  that  it  was  a  "basic  rule  of  the 
Society  to  obey  the  Bishop  as  the  Ambassador  of  Christ 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  113 

and  recognize  his  authority  as  being,  as  St.  Paul  says, 
'In  Christ's  stead.'  I  should  expect  Sister  Mary  Emily," 
he  continues,  "not  only  to  render  canonical  obedience 
to  you  as  a  worker  in  your  Diocese,  but  to  implicitly 
and  explicitly  obey  the  rector  in  whose  parish  she  would 
at  any  time  be  employed,  but  I  must  claim  as  my  right 
not  only  to  withdraw  any  individual  worker  from  a 
parish,  but  the  whole  Community  (should  such  be 
established,)  from  the  Diocese,  for  grave  and  sufficient 
cause." 

He  took  the  ground  that  so  far  as  beliefs  and  prac- 
tices peculiar  to  the  churchmanship  of  the  Society  were 
concerned,    the   Society   had   inalienable   rights: 

As  members  of  the  Society  we  require  an  entire  acceptance 
of  the  Society's  teachings  on  the  part  of  all,  but  when  any  sister 
undertakes  work  in  a  diocese  or  parish  she  is  expected  to  hold 
as  private  and  personal  the  Society's  faith  and  practice,  in  so 
far  as  it  does  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  the  bishop  or  rector 
under  whom  she  works.  The  only  place  where  we  ask  that  our 
Tertiary  workers  be  allowed  to  practice  their  religious  con- 
victions without  let  or  hindrance  is  in  their  own  Community 
House,  where  they  shall  have  the  same  liberty  as  any  private 
family  in  any  parish  or  diocese.  This  is  Bishop  Potter's  prin- 
ciple in  dealing  with  the  several  religious  communities  of  men 
and  women  having  houses  in  his  diocese,  and  I  believe  it  to  be 
a  sound  and  righteous  one.  I  will  not  step  my  foot  officially 
within  the  limits  of  your  diocese  without  your  consent,  which 
I  have  already  asked,  but  not  as  yet  received,  but  if  I  visit 
Sister  Kathleen's  house  it  must  be  with  the  express  understand- 
ing that  I  shall  be  permitted  to  perform  whatsoever  priestly 
functions  within  that  house  I  would  be  canonically  at  liberty 
to  perform  in  my  own  private  rectory  were  I  priest  in  charge 
of  any  parish  in  Washington.  The  Catholic  clergy  are  some- 
times charged  with  being  untrustworthy  and  acting  deceitfully, 
but  I  trust  no  such  charge  will  ever  be  laid  justly  at  the  doors 
of  any  priest  working  for  the  Society  of  the  Atonement.  I  have 
stated  our  case  plainly,  and  if  you  do  not  wish  us  to  engage  in 
work  among  the  colored  people  in  your  Diocese  the  effort  will 
at    once    come    to    an    end,    and    our    workers    will    have    to 


n4  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1885 

make  choice  between  being  immediately  withdrawn  from  the 
Diocese,  or  else  severing  their  connection  with  the  Society  of  the 
Atonement. 

The  following  is   Bishop  Satterlee's  reply: — 

TO   FATHER   PAUL  JAMES   FRANCIS,    S.A. 

Jan.  12th,  iqoi. —  I  ask  your  pardon  for  my  unavoidable 
delay  in  responding  to  your  letter,  and  thank  you  for  the  very 
frank  way  in  which  you  have  spoken  in  the  second.  I  shall  be 
equally  frank  with  you. 

I  had  no  idea  until  the  past  month,  that  members  of  your 
order  were  connected  with  our  parish  work.  It  was  the  plain 
duty  of  such  church  workers  in  parishes  of  the  Diocese,  to  have 
notified  the  rector  of  their  intention  before  joining  your  order. 

I  think  also  that  the  head  of  the  order  should  at  the  same 
time  have  made  known  the  same  fact  to  the  Bishop. 

Especially  is  this  the  case  with  such  Society  as  that  of  the 
Atonement,  which  I  understand  from  you  is  "an  offshoot  in 
our  own  Communion,  from  the  original  Franciscan  root,  estab- 
lished seven  hundred  years  ago  in  Italy  by  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi."  You  say  that  the  Society  occupies  "very  advanced 
ground  at  the  extreme  right  wing  of  the  Catholic  movement  of 
the  Anglican  Church,"  and  that  you  "require  an  entire  accept- 
ance of  the  Society's  teachings." 

This  constitutes  a  very  grave  difficulty.  If  the  members  of 
your  Society  are  under  the  Bishop,  and,  acting  under  canonical 
obedience  to  the  Bishop  and  rectors  of  various  parishes,  confine 
themselves  honestly  in  spirit,  as  well  as  in  letter,  only  to  that 
kind  of  religious  teaching,  which  the  rectors  expect  them  to 
give;  and  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  hold  deep  convictions  regard- 
ing the  necessity  of  another  kind  of  teaching,  I  do  not  see  how 
they  can  honestly  refrain  from  expressing  this  deep  religious 
conviction  of  theirs,  without  running  the  danger  of  becoming 
disingenuous. 

If  you  reverse  the  situation  you  will  appreciate  exactly  what 
I  mean. 

I  myself,  hold  as  a  strong  conviction  that  the  real  Vicar  of 
Christ  on  this  earth  is  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  and  that  if  we  are 
led  by  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  we  must  avoid  all  temptations  to 
disingenuousness. 


1889]  MORTAR  AND  TROWEL  115 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  cannot  feel  justified,  as  the 
Bishop  of  this  Diocese,  in  covering  with  the  protection  of  my 
episcopal  authority,  any  parish  workers  who  are  placed  in  the 
position  where  their  canonical  obedience  to  the  Bishop  and 
rectors  of  parishes,  will  prevent  them  from  expressing  openly  in 
their  outward  ministry  these  convictions  which  lie  nearest  their 
heart. 


CHAPTER  VII 

STONE    UPON    STONE 

1889-1892 

Have  you  heard  it,  the  dominant  call 
Of  the  city's  great  cry,  and  the  thrall 
And  the  throb  and  the  pulse  of  its  Life, 
And  the  touch  and  the  stir  of  its  Strife, 
As,  amid  the  dread  dust  of  the  din, 
It  wages  its  battle  of  Sin? 

If  a  frail  sister  slip,  we  must  hold  her, 

If  a  brother  be  lost  in  the  strain 

Of  the  infinite  pitfalls  of  pain, 

We  must  love  him  and  lift  him  again. 

CORINNE    ROOSEVELT   ROBINSON 

IT  was  in  1889  that  Dr.  Satterlee's  interest  in  the 
problems  of  the  great  city  first  brought  him  into 
contact  with  the  newly  appointed  Police  Commis- 
sioner, Theodore  Roosevelt,  whose  term  of  service  in  this 
responsible  post  coincided  with  the  balance  of  Dr.  Sat- 
terlee's  life  at  Calvary. 

Referring  to  these  days  Jacob  Riis  said:1  "I  am 
thinking  of  the  time,  only  a  little  while  ago,  when 
Theodore  Roosevelt  was  Police  Commissioner  in  New 
York,  and  of  his  astonished  look  when  churchmen, 
citizens  from  whom  he  should  have  expected  support, 
and  did  expect  it,  for  his  appeal  was  to  them  direct, 
came  to  him  daily  to  plead  for  ' discretion'  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws  he  was  sworn  to  carry  out.  Not  all 
of  them  did  this  —  he  had  many  strong  backers  among 
the  clergy  and  lay  brethren  —  but  too  many."  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say  that  Dr.  Satterlee  stood  among 
his  strong  backers.  Indeed  his  efforts  were  such  that 
Riis  said  of  him:    "The  poor  of  New  York  have  no  better 

1  The  Peril  and  the  Preservation  of  the  Home,  pp.  86,  87. 


1892]  STONE  UPON  STONE  117 

friend  than  Dr.  Satterlee/'  In  191 1,  just  before  leaving 
for  his  South  American  tour,  Colonel  Roosevelt  wrote 
Dr.  Satterlee's  daughter,  Mrs.   F.  W.   Rhinelander: 

I  had  long  known  your  father;  I  was  brought  into  intimate 
contact  with  him  first  when  I  was  Police  Commissioner  in  New 
York  City.  I  soon  discovered  that  he  was  one  of  the  clergymen 
who  was  a  genuine  force  for  civic  righteousness,  and  that  his 
deeds  made  good  his  words.  He  was  a  practical  idealist;  he 
preached  realizable  ideals,  and  then  practised  them.  He  not 
only  helped  in  the  reform  movement  for  the  city  as  a  whole, 
but  he  was  a  power  for  good  in  his  immediate  neighborhood, 
doing  the  practical  work  for  decency  which  few  people  are  will- 
ing to  take  the  pains  to  do.  The  decent  policemen  recognized 
him  as  an  efficient  and  disinterested  friend,  and  every  corrupt 
man  on  the  force  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  instinctively 
dreaded  him. 

When  I  became  President  all  our  household  saw  much  of 
your  father,  who  had  then  become  a  bishop.  His  influence  was 
great,  and  it  was  always  cast  for  what  was  best  and  highest. 
To  an  unusual  degree  he  combined  spiritual-mindedness  with  the 
purpose  to  do  efficient,  practical  work,  and  I  do  not  think  that 
any  one  came  in  contact  with  him  without  becoming  conscious 
of  a  certain  elevation  of  thought  and  temper,  and  the  power  of 
inspiring  others,  which  are  among  the  gifts  most  to  be  desired 
for  any  man  in  such  a  position  as  his. 

It  was  Dr.  Satterlee's  sense  of  responsibility  as  a 
Christian  citizen  of  no  mean  city,  not  less  than  his  devo- 
tion to  the  parish  with  which  he  had  become  identified,  that 
made  it  clear  to  him  that  he  ought  not  to  accept  his 
election  to  succeed  as  Bishop  of  Michigan  the  towering 
personage  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Smith  Harris,  who  died 
toward  the  close  of  1888  literally  of  over-work.  It  was  not 
merely  that  he  felt  that  it  was  not  in  God's  purpose  that 
he  should  accept,  but  that  this  very  fact  carried  with  it 
a  confirmation  and  reiteration  of  the  call  to  Calvary, 
and  he  bent  his  energies  anew  to  his  growing  responsi- 
bilities as  pastor  and  citizen. 

Early  in  the  year  his  life-long  friend  Dr.  W.  C.   Rives 


n8  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1889 

lost  his  father.  Two  letters  on  this  occasion,  one  to 
Dr.  Rives  and  one  to  Mrs.  Rives,  are  stray  leaves  from 
a  whole  volume  of  consolatory  words,  spoken  and  written, 
with  which  he  was  wont  to  comfort  the  bereaved. 

TO    DR.    RIVES 

April  11,  i88g. —  I  could  do  nothing  but  think  of  you  and 
Mrs.  Rives  all  the  way  down  from  Boston. 

I  know  what  it  is  to  pass  through  the  same  trial  you  have 
undergone.  I  was  also  my  father's  eldest  son  and  the  bond 
between  us  was  very  close. 

Strange  to  say  yesterday  was  his  birthday,  and  he  too  died 
in  April  at  the  age  of  63. 

Out  of  the  feeling  of  desolation  that  came  to  me  in  the  weeks 
when  I  was  first  deprived  of  my  life-long  counsellor  and  friend, 
there  grew,  however,  a  feeling  of  strength  and  self-reliance  that 
I  had  never  experienced  before,  and  I  think  I  have  always  been 
a  different  man  since  that  great  sorrow  came  to  me.  God  does 
somehow  keep  leading  us  onward  and  upward  in  these  changes 
that  come  and  I  believe  that  they  are  both  full  of  meaning  and 
also  of  lasting  fruit.  We  have  only  one  life  to  live,  and  I  don't 
think  it  could  be  a  noble  one  unless  we  had  to  pass  through 
such  sorrows  as  these.  Now  that  I  have  returned  it  does  seem 
to  me  as  though  I  missed  you  both  more  than  ever  before.  I 
suppose  it  is  because  I  have  so  lately  been  with  you. 

I  appreciate  more  than  I  can  ever  express  to  you  your  desire 
that  I  should  officiate  at  your  father's  funeral.  And  it  was  a 
very  great  privilege  for  me  to  come  to  you.  I  am  looking  for- 
ward to  seeing  you  very  soon  and  cherish  the  hope  that  you  will 
be  able  to  be  with  us  on  Easter  Day. 

Will  you  kindly  remember  me  to  your  mother  and  your 
brother.  I  hope  to  write  to  the  former  in  a  few  days.  I  enclose 
a  letter  to  Mrs.  Rives. 

TO   MRS.   RIVES 

April  ii9  1889.—  I  sincerely  hope  that  you  are  better  to-day, 
and  that  you  are  having  a  good  long  rest  after  the  severe  strain 
of  the  past  few  days.  Indeed  I  wonder  how  you  passed  through 
it  as  well  as  you  did,  when  I  think  how  the  awful  shock  first 
came  to  you  at  midnight  after  all  the  fatigue  of  Sunday.  But 
God   does   give   us   strength  —  not  only   spiritual   but   physical 


1892]  STONE  UPON  STONE  119 

strength  —  in  times  of  trial.  May  such  strength  be  yours  — 
and  it  will  come,  as  daily  bread  if  you  take  no  thought  for  the 
morrow.  The  longer  I  live  the  more  clearly  I  see  how  unwise 
it  is  to  look  ahead.  We  can  safely  leave  our  whole  future  in  His 
hands  Who  knows  all  our  desires,  Who  has  promised  to  answer 
all  our  prayers.  And  I  am  sure  that  God  never  puts  into  our 
hearts  a  very  earnest  desire  to  work  for  Him  without  providing 
a  way  for  its  realization. 

Parish  affairs  progressed  steadily.  Many  crying  needs 
of  the  past  were  "in  a  fair  way  of  being  met,  if  they 
had  not  been  wholly  met  already."  Debt  upon  a  church 
building  was  especially  abhorrent  to  him.  This  year 
"the  debt  which  had  been  hanging  over  the  church  for 
so  many  years  was  wiped  away.  It  is  true/5  he  says 
in  his  annual  Recftor's  Letter,  "that  the  sum  was  not 
large,  but  the  same  code  of  morals  that  applies  to  the 
individual  should  be  observed  surely  by  the  Church 
herself,  and  it  may  be  a  source  of  gratitude  to  the  parish- 
ioners, as  it  is  to  the  reclor  himself,  that  through  the 
generosity  and  devout  efforts  of  a  number  of  our  people 
every  obligation  has  been  liquidated,  and  we  can  begin 
a  new  year  with  consciousness  that  our  dear  parish 
Church  is  free  from  all  pecuniary  burdens." 

The  mechanical  bent  of  modern  times  has  exalted 
the  machine-like  man  into  a  Deus  ex  machina,  and  the 
highest  reward  the  age  can  bestow  is  to  label  him  effi- 
cient. The  absence  of  markedly  human  characteristics 
is  not  infrequently  commended  if  the  lack  makes  for 
greater  mechanical  perfection  in  some  specialized  form 
of  activity.  Dr.  Satterlee  was  an  effective  rather  than 
an  efficient  man.  He  was  too  intensely  human  to  be 
system-ridden.  In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Percy  R.  Pyne 
(April  18,  1893)  he  says:  "Some  persons  have  marked 
executive  ability,  but  this  is  insufficient  where  personal 
religious  work  has  to  be  done,  and  if  the  former  alone 
is  emphasized,  the  work,  bye  and  bye,  becomes  per- 
functory, and  visitors  who  have  no  executive  ability, 
but  the  sympathy  and  *  touch'  to  deal  with  individuals, 


120  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1889 

drop  out.'3  His  humanness,  however,  does  not  imply 
that  he  was  unsystematic  or  disorderly.  He  was  far 
from  being  so.  Method  was  his  agent  or  instrument, 
and  in  so  far  as  it  served  its  purpose  he  employed  it. 
For  instance,  in  the  duty  of  freewill  offerings  for  church 
support,  his  aim  was  to  make  almsgiving  the  expression 
of  fundamental  religious  principle  in  the  life  of  every 
Christian,  and  not  solely  to  raise  much  money  for  the 
prosecution  of  his  ecclesiastical  and  philanthropic  under- 
takings. His  plan  for  systematic  offerings  was  the  out- 
come of  this  conception  of  giving.  "After  a  year  of 
careful  consideration  a  plan  has  been  set  on  foot  for 
substituting,  in  the  place  of  the  uncertain  revenues 
drawn  from  occasional  Sunday  offerings,  a  method  of 
direct  appeal,  to  the  individual  members  of  the  parish, 
so  as  to  help  them  to  realize  their  own  personal  respon- 
sibility. By  this  plan  a  work  of  education  is  instituted, 
first  in  the  direction  of  advancing  the  idea  that  our 
alms  are  offerings  to  God,  and  not  mere  forced  collections; 
and  next,  in  making  each  Christian  stand  apart  from 
his  or  her  family  relations  and  face  an  individual  duty, 
this  method  by  its  pledge  and  its  regularity  enforcing 
especially  the  thought  of  Christian  stewardship  whether 
of  one  talent  or  of  ten."  The  result  was,  as  he  foresaw, 
successful  in  both  directions  —  both  benefactors  and 
beneficiaries    profited. 

The  broader  interests  of  the  Church  were  cared  for 
by  the  General  Missionary  Department  with  its  various 
committees.  Calvary,  when  Dr.  Satterlee  assumed 
charge,  was  insular  in  its  outlook.  Almost  his  first 
thought  was,  while  preserving  and  developing  its  co- 
herence as  a  parish  and  fostering  the  family  spirit  which 
was  so  pronounced  a  feature  of  his  former  charge,  to 
broaden  its  vision  and  enlarge  its  sense  of  responsibility. 
It  was  through  the  General  Missionary  Department 
that  he  accomplished  his  purpose.  Foreign  and  domestic 
missions,  work  among  Indians  and  Negroes,  received 
intelligent   and   sympathetic   attention.     The   Committee 


THE  REV.  HENRY  YATES  SATTERLEE,  D.D. 

Reclor  of  Calvary  Cburcb 


1892]  STONE  UPON  STONE  121 

on  Missions  of  the  Archdeaconry  of  New  York  was 
notably  active  and  successful.  It  developed  that  intimate 
personal  touch  between  the  free  and  the  imprisoned, 
the  privileged  and  the  needy,  the  well  and  the  sick, 
the  citizen  and  the  institutionalized,  that  has  been  one 
of  the  most  potent  forces  throughout  the  country  in 
the  reconstruction  of,  and  change  of  temper  in,  our  char- 
ities, philanthropies  and  penal  institutions.  It  was  a 
member  of  the  Committee  on  Missions  within  the  Arch- 
deaconry of  New  York  who  gave  the  Chapel  of  Christ 
the  Consoler  to   Bellevue  Hospital. 

The  people  took  their  Rector  at  his  word.  Though 
the  East  Side  work  received  the  equipment  needed  as 
being  of  prime  importance,  the  beautifying  of  the  parish 
church  and  the  building  of  a  parish  house  were  held 
in  abeyance.  Nevertheless  year  by  year  Dr.  Satterlee 
kept  the  need  of  a  parish  house  before  the  parishioners 
as  among  the  things  to  be  eventually  achieved. 

During  the  summer  of  1890  Dr.  Satterlee  and  his 
family  were  abroad.  Churchill  had  just  graduated  from 
Columbia  but  his  vocation  had  not  yet  claimed  him. 
His  father  and  mother  had  never  tried  to  force  him  in 
the  direction  of  their  heart's  desire  —  the  ministry,  though 
their  prayers  that  this  might  be  his  choice  were  unceasing. 
Among  other  interesting  experiences  of  the  summer  was 
that  of  participating  in  the  twelve  hundred  and  six- 
teenth anniversary,  on  St.  Peter's  Day,  of  the  little 
church  in  Sunderland,  "consecrated  in  the  days  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  Venerable  Bede."  While  in  London 
Dr.  Satterlee  gave  much  attention  to  the  way  such 
enterprises  as  Oxford  House  and  Toynbee  Hall  were 
endeavoring  to  meet  the  complex  problems  of  a  great 
city.  Churchill  accompanied  him  and  could  not  but  be  in- 
fluenced by  what  he  learned  and  the  men  he  met.  He  was 
with  his  father  at  a  retreat  at  Keble  College  conducted  by 
Canon  Gore.  Such  experiences,  coming  at  a  moment  when 
he  had  to  reach  a  definite  decision,  no  doubt  made  it 
clearer  and  easier  for  him  to  determine  his  course. 


122  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1889 

After  seeing  the  Passion  Play  at  Oberammergau  the 
family  went  to  Switzerland,  and  in  Axenstein  the  die 
was  cast  that  eventuated  in  a  splendid  though  brief 
career  in  the  Ministry. 

The  story  of  these  critical  days  is  told  by  his  friend 
the  Rev.  Hamilton  Schuyler.1  Churchill  is  quoted  as 
having    said:  — 

"I  told  my  father  soon  after  graduation  that  I  had  about 
decided  to  go  into  the  real  estate  business.  Instead  of  jumping 
up  to  congratulate  me  he  just  looked  at  me  and  said,  'I  can 
picture  you  sitting  in  an  office  on  the  Avenue  waiting  for  a  cus- 
tomer to  come  in  —  and  then?'" 

I  believe  those  two  words — "and  then"  —  had  a  direct  influ- 
ence on  his  whole  course  of  life  thereafter.  He  felt  that  he  was 
fitted  for  a  higher  calling  and  one  more  useful.  Many  times 
have  I  heard  him  tell  the  story  of  the  worldly  man  who  was  be- 
ing questioned  as  to  his  ambitions  in  life,  and  after  each  goal  of 
riches  or  pleasure  had  been  reached  the  insatiable  questioner 
would  ask,  "and  then?"  until  finally  the  man  was  forced  to 
admit  that  after  he  had  attained  all  his  ambitions  in  this  world, 
he  would  in  reality  be  just  where  he  started,  having  done  no 
good  to  mankind,  as  his  aims  were  entirely  selfish,  or  at  least 
not  directed  towards  things  worth  while. 

Satterlee's  father  gives  an  account  of  an  interview  which  he 
had  with  his  son  relative  to  the  choice  of  his  vocation  in  life. 
It  was  when  the  summer  vacation  following  his  graduation  from 
college  was  drawing  to  a  close,  during  a  sojourn  in  Lucerne. 
The  two  had  gone  for  a  walk  in  the  fields,  and  were  resting  under 
a  haystack.  The  subject  was  introduced  by  Dr.  Satterlee,  who 
said  to  his  son: 

"'So  far  you  have  made  a  creditable  mark  for  yourself;  now 
that  you  have  graduated  from  college,  you  must  choose  a  pro- 
fession—  what  are  you  going  to  be?' 

"Churchill  replied:  'I  don't  know;  I  don't  think  I  am  good 
for  anything  specially.' 

"'What  is  your  idea  in  life,'  I  said,  'to  get  or  to  give?' 

"Churchill  replied:  'Oh!  I've  thought  and  decided  about  that 
long  ago,  I  want  to  give  all  that  I  have  to  give;    I  want  to  be 

1  A  Fisher  of  Men,  pp.  19-22. 


1892]  STONE  UPON  STONE  123 

useful,  of  course,  I  want  to  help  my  Day  to  take  its  stand;    I 
want  to  be  a  builder  of  some  kind,  but  I  am  not  fitted  to  build 

anything/ 

"I  said,  'Build  up  the  human  body/  He  responded,  'I  never 
cared  for  surgery  or  medicine/ 

"I  said,  'Build  up  the  sense  of  justice  in  the  community/ 
He  replied,  'I  am  no  orator:  no  dialectician,  I  am  not  fitted  to 
be  a  lawyer/ 

"I  said,  'Be  an  architect  or  a  civil  engineer/  The  answer 
was,  'You  know  I  am  neither  a  draughtsman  on  the  one  hand 
nor  a  mathematician  on  the  other;  I  am  qualified  for  neither 
profession/ 

"I  then  said,  'Be  a  character  builder/  Churchill  replied, 
'How  can  I?  I  am  not  qualified  !  Anyway,  how  is  this  to  be 
done?'  I  answered,  'The  character  builder  in  a  village  is  the 
religious  leader,  who  goes  in  and  out  among  the  people,  and 
shows  the  butcher,  the  baker,  the  candle-stick  maker,  how,  in 
pursuing  their  trades,  to  be  better  tradesmen,  better  citizens  of 
the  commonwealth,  better  Christians  and  more  faithful  wit- 
nesses for  Jesus  Christ,  in  their  several  callings;  who  shows 
fathers  and  mothers  that  the  Christian  family  is  the  unit  upon 
which  Christian  civilization  is  built  up,  and  thus  prepares  the 
way  for  the  coming  of  God's  Kingdom/  Churchill  replied,  'Oh! 
if  I  only  had  the  power  to  be  such  a  character  builder,  I  should 
gladly  give  my  life  to  this  work,  but  here  again  I  have  no  quali- 
fications for  filling  this  sphere/  I  begged  him  to  stop  and  think, 
and  reminded  him  of  the  influence  he  had  exercised  over  others 
in  his  college  life  and  his  fraternity,  and  over  the  friends  who  had 
been  coming  for  the  last  eight  years  to  our  house.  He  made  no 
reply  and  we  walked  quietly  home.  The  next  morning  he  an- 
nounced to  us  that  he  should  sail  for  home  a  month  earlier  than 
we  had  intended,  for  he  wished  to  have  a  conference  with  Dean 
Hoffman  and  Dr.  Dyer,  with  a  view  possibly  to  entering  the 
General  Seminary  in  the  autumn.  When  we  all  demurred,  say- 
ing that  this  would  break  up  the  family  party  and  spoil  the 
pleasure  of  our  European  trip,  he  replied,  somewhat  gruffly, 
'Duty  first  —  pleasure  afterwards.'  His  one  great  dread  seemed 
to  be  lest  he  should  be  influenced  into  entering  the  ministry 
without  being  really  fitted  for  it.  Now,  when  he  was  on  the 
point  of  deciding  through  his  own  free  will,  it  was  a  satisfaction 
for  him  to  feel,  that  by  thus  sailing  for  America  contrary  to  his 


I24  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1889 

own  inclinations  and  our  wishes,  he  was  giving  proof  of  his  sin- 
cerity and  independent  choice.  Two  months  from  that  time, 
on  St.  Matthew's  Day,  1890,  while  Churchill  was  being  matri- 
culated as  a  student  in  the  Seminary,  we  were  in  John  Keble's 
Church  at  Hursley,  praying  that  God  would  bless  him  in  the 
acl:  and  consecrate  his  whole  future  life  in  the  ministry,  as  a 
faithful  servant  of  Jesus  Christ." 

The  instinct  of  the  builder  was  as  marked  in  the  son 
as  in  the  father.  The  decision  to  become  a  character 
builder  having  been  made  he  was  filled  with  the  enthu- 
siasm of  it  and  sped  to  his  preparation.  He  did  not 
become  a  resident  at  the  General  Theological  Seminary 
but  lived  at  home.  "The  only  definite  and  regular  work 
which  he  undertook  in  Calvary  Church  during  this 
period  was  the  training  of  the  auxiliary  choir.  His 
natural  shyness  made  him  exceedingly  reluctant  to  fill 
this  position,  but  his  sense  of  duty  and  his  extreme 
fondness  for  music  finally  led  him  to  accept.  Under 
his  leadership  as  organist  and  choirmaster,  a  distinct 
improvement  in  the  behavior  of  the  choir  members 
was  noticeable.  Though  the  young  men  and  women 
composing  the  choir  were  many  of  them  his  most  inti- 
mate friends,  his  enthusiasm  enabled  him  to  conquer 
his  diffidence,  and  he  learned  to  play  the  part  of  a  strid 
disciplinarian. 

"As  at  school  and  college,  so  also  in  the  seminary, 
Satterlee  made  many  friends  and  was  a  prime  favorite 
with  his  classmates.  He  introduced  them  to  his  parents 
and  made  them  free  of  the  hospitality  so  lavishly  dis- 
pensed   at   Calvary    Re&ory." 

Among  those  who  came  under  his  influence  the  claims 
of  the  ministry  were  felt  not  only  by  Churchill.  There 
were  at  this  time  some  seven  or  eight  candidates  for 
Holy  Orders  from  Calvary  Church  and  Chapel,  three 
of  the  number  coming  from  the  Knights  of  Temperance. 
The  following  letter  written  after  the  Bishop's  death 
to  Mrs.  Satterlee  refers  to  these  days:  — 


1892]  STONE  UPON  STONE  125 

FROM  THE  REV.  W.  J.  DENZILOE  THOMAS 

It  was  in  the  month  of  June  in  the  year  1886  that  I  first 
entered  Calvary  Church  and  heard  Dr.  Satterlee  preach.  I  was 
so  deeply  impressed  with  the  sermon  and  drawn  toward  the  one 
who  preached  that  I  sought  an  interview,  and  then  presented 
the  letters  which  I  had  brought  from  England  only  a  few 
weeks  before.  Dr.  Satterlee  read  the  letters,  which  seemed  to 
please  him,  then  turning  toward  me  with  a  very  kind  ex- 
pression he  said  "Your  letters  are  excellent,  but  every  young 
man  is  expected  to  make  his  own  character  in  America/' 
I  replied  that  I  was  willing  to  be  put  to  the  test.  I  worked 
under  his  direction  in  the  Galilee  Mission  which  was  so  near 
to  his  great  heart;  there  I  saw  him  work  and  pray  with  those 
who  had  erred  and  gone  astray  until  his  very  being  was 
aflame  with  the  love  of  souls;  all  the  workers  learned  to  love 
him.  There  his  zeal  and  love,  his  self-sacrifice  and  splendid 
robust  Christian  manhood  appealed  to  the  men  and  won  many 
of  them  to  the  higher  life.  He  asked  me  to  prepare  for  the 
ministry,  and  after  six  years  preparation  I  was  graduated  in  the 
same  class  as  his  son  Churchill  from  the  General  Theological 
Seminary,  and  presented  by  Dr.  Satterlee  for  Deacons  orders 
in  Calvary  Church  on  Trinity  Sunday,  1893;  during  all  those 
years  he  helped  me  by  his  splendid  robust  manhood,  his  spiritual 
leadership  and  fatherly  care.  God  blessed  me  richly  in  giving  me 
such  a  true-hearted,  whole-souled  friend  as  he  was  to  me  in  those 
early  days,  and  continued  to  be  all  through  the  years  until  he 
entered  Paradise. 

My  first  impression  of  him  was,  that  he  had  the  power  of  deep 
spiritual  insight,  and  that  he  was  a  firm  believer  in  undeveloped 
possibilities  in  men  and  nature;  true  as  steel,  loyal  to  the  last, 
patient  with  the  weak  penitent  sinner  but  unable  to  tolerate 
hypocrisy  and  sham  in  friend  or  foe.  He  never  wounded  except 
with  a  loving  desire  to  correct  the  error  and  to  heal  the  wound. 
I  loved  him,  and  learned  to  revere  him  as  a  Saint  of  God.  God 
grant  that  all  who  knew  him  and  enjoyed  his  friendship  may 
strive  for  and  attain  his  high  standard  in  all  things. 

His  conferences  with  his  "boys"  who  were  students 
at  the  General  Theological  Seminary  during  his  Calvary 
rectorate  steadied  and  inspired  to  a  more  worthy  regard 


I26  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1889 

for  the  ministry,  those  who  thus  came  under  his  in- 
fluence. The  pastoral  ideal  of  our  Church  was  very 
dear  to  his  heart  and  gave  to  our  ministry  a  distinctive 
character.  His  talks  to  the  Seminary  students  who 
gathered  at  his  house  were  gleaned  from  his  own  expe- 
rience and  "were  the  simplest  and  most  practical  advice 
on  pastoral  work,"  illustrated  by  incidents  from  his 
rectorate  in  Wappinger's  Falls. 

One  of  his  successors  at  Zion  Church1  says  that  "he 
was  thoroughly  familiar  with  his  list  of  communicants. 
Every  year  he  kept  a  book  for  his  own  eye  alone,  con- 
taining a  list  of  communicants,  with  a  record  of  attend- 
ance of  each  at  the  service  of  the  Holy  Communion. 
He  made  use  of  this  record  in  his  parish  visiting  and  in 
his  dealing  with  individuals.  Adults  who  had  not  been 
confirmed  —  he  kept  a  list  of  them  —  he  prayed  for  by 
name,  he  spoke  to  every  year,  sometimes  purposely 
omitting  one  year  with  certain  individuals  that  they 
might  feel  the  difference  and  not  take  his  approach  too 
much  as  a  matter  of  course.  Many  men  and  women, 
to  whom  the  Church  had  in  previous  years  not  meant 
much,  were  in  the  course  of  his  pastorate  nursed  into 
life  and  became  devoted   Churchmen. 

He  was  thinking  of  these  days  of  faithful  shepherding 
when  he  said  to  his  "boys": 

"We  should  guard  the  time  given  to  pastoral  visits 
with  great  care.  When  you  go  to  a  home,  ring  the  bell 
or  knock  at  the  door  with  a  prayer  that  God's  grace  may 
go  before  you  and  that  an  opportunity  may  be  given 
you  to  say  the  right  word.  When  you  are  once  in  the 
house,  if  you  have  any  time  to  wait,  look  about  you 
and  see  what  kind  of  things  is  in  the  room,  learning  what 
the  tastes  are  of  the  persons  upon  whom  you  are  calling, 
so  that  you  may  the  more  readily  enter  into  their  life." 

Relative  to  ministerial  "calls'    he  would  say: 

"Do  not  accept  a  call  until  you  receive  one.  You 
cannot  tell  what  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Spirit  will  answer 

1  The  Reverend  Prescott  Evarts. 


1892]  STONE  UPON  STONE  127 

until  the  call  definitely  comes  to  you.  So  many  men  are 
asked  if  they  would  accept  a  call  if  it  came  to  them.  My 
advice  is  not  to  accept  or  decline  a  call  until  it  does  come." 

As  his  papers  testify,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  carefully 
tabulating,  after  the  manner  of  the  credit  and  debit  pages 
of  an  account  book,  the  arguments  for  and  against  an 
important  step.  Hence  this  practical  counsel  in  con- 
nection with  vocation: 

"I  would  put  down  all  the  reasons  why  I  should  go 
to  the  new  field  on  the  one  side,  and  all  the  reasons 
why  I  should  remain  where  I  was  on  the  other  side. 
The  financial  reason  should  come  last,  but  this  is  an 
important  reason  to  consider.  Then  take  these  pros 
and  cons  and  spread  them  before  the  Lord,  and  balance 
them  one  against  the  other  until  the  right  decision  has 
been  maintained.  God's  will  is  always  plain.  He  will 
never  leave  you  in  doubt  as  to  your  duty.  It  is  the 
devil  that  makes  us  doubtful   and  hesitating,  not  God."1 

There  are  some  epigrammatic  and  telling  bits  of  advice 
in  some  "Hints  on  Pastoral  Work'  given  to  a  deacon 
on  the  occasion  of  his  advancement  to  the  priesthood 
by  Dr.  Satterlee  in  1882  (he  was  then  Recftor  of  Zion 
Church)  who  presented  him  for  ordination: 

"You  must  be  a  leader,  not  a  commander.  Say 
'venite'  instead  of  'ite.'      Banish  all  temptation  to  be  a 


commander." 


"Do  not  dare  to  do  anything  for  effect,  in  voice, 
manner,  gesture  or  words.  Sink  self  as  far  as  possible 
in  all  that  you  do." 

"Do  not  avoid  criticism.  Listen  to  all  hints  from  all 
quarters.  This  disarms  antagonism,  makes  all  feel  that 
they  have  your  ear,  and  wonderfully  enriches  your  stock 
of  wisdom." 

"Do  not  be  afraid  that  you  will  cheapen  yourself  by 
being  humble-minded.  'He  that  humbleth  himself  shall 
be  exalted'  is  the  law  of  success." 

1  From  a  letter  to  Mrs.  H.  G.  Satterlee  from  the  Rev.  T.  A.  Conover,  Sept. 
23,  1911. 


128  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1889 

"An  old  Bishop  once  said:  'Never  preach  beyond 
your  own  personal  experience.'  If  you  do,  if  you  de- 
scribe spiritual  states  of  feeling  to  which  you  are  a 
stranger,  your  words  will  be  unrealities  and  sentimentali- 
ties to  those  who  hear  you." 

"Rather  strive  to  suggest  thought  than  to  dictate 
thought." 

"Do  not  end  your  sermon  with   a  string  of  practical 

directions." 

"A  young  man  ought  almost  always  to  say  in  his 
sermons  not  'you/  but  'we.'" 

"Never  preach  a  denunciatory  sermon.  It  never  does 
any  good,  and  is  only  waste  of  time." 

"Do  not  worry  yourself  as  to  your  style.  Above  all, 
do  not  let  David  strive  to  walk  in  Goliath's  armor. 
Your  own  style  will  form  itself  gradually  if  you  strive 
to  express  yourself  clearly  in  plain  Anglo-Saxon,  and  with 
fewest  possible  words." 

"The  highest  style  of  preaching  is  our  blessed  Lord's 
style,  as  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  That  should  be 
our  model.  He  never  reasoned.  He  taught  with  au- 
thority, i.e.  —  the  authority  of  the  truth." 

"If  a  woman  talks  much  or  fluently,  be  careful  of  her, 
whosoever  she  is." 

"I  have  adopted  two  rules  for  my  own  self-preservation: 

"First,  when  I  hear  one  member  of  a  parish  speaking 
in  an  unkind  way  about  another  (unless  there  is  the 
plainest  and  most  unmistakable  reason  for  it)  I  always 
set  it  down  as  a  mark  of  a  disloyal  nature,  and  know 
that  the  speaker  will  say  the  same  kind  of  things  about 
me,  when  the  occasion  arises,  behind  my  back,  and  that 
therefore  I  must  be  very  guarded  in  my  words  to  him. 
Second,  to  be  loyal  and  true,  not  to  any  particular  person 
or  set  of  persons,  but  to  the  whole  parish. 

"If  you  bear  in  your  heart  the  necessity  of  never 
saying  a  word,  or  lending  yourself  to  a  scheme  that  can 
be  construed  into  partisanship;  if  you  make  it  a  prin- 
ciple that  in  all  things  you  will  be  loyal  to  the  parish 


1892]  STONE  UPON  STONE  129 

as  a  whole,  you  will  be  saved  from  many  a  chagrin, 
many  a  mortification,  many  a  mistake,  and  at  the  same 
time,  will  increase  the  general  confidence  in  your  straight- 
forwardness  and  integrity." 

Dr.  Satterlee  came  back  from  abroad  with  new  ideas 
and  fresh  vigor  for  work  among  the  tramps,  the  luckless 
and  the  poor.  He  always  had  deep  affe&ion  for  Eng- 
land, and  English  ways  and  thought  appealed  to  him, 
but  he  was  too  much  of  an  American  to  accept  anything 
English  without  first  testing  its  applicability  to  his 
native  country.  He  gained  a  good  deal  of  valuable 
information  from  the  work  done  in  the  East  End  by 
the  University  Settlement  at  Oxford  House.  The  idea 
of  the  University  Settlement  was  at  this  time  new  in 
America.  People  were  only  beginning  to  learn  how  the 
other  half  lived.  Miss  Jane  Addams  and  Miss  Ellen  G. 
Starr  were  only  just  opening  the  doors  of  Hull  House 
in  Chicago  (1889).  Similar  settlements  were  beginning 
to  appear  in  the  congested  sections  of  New  York,  Boston 
and  other  great  cities.  The  churches  of  every  denomina- 
tion were  awakening  to  their  responsibility  for  social 
betterment,  and  by  means  of  missions  like  the  42nd 
St.  Mission  of  St.  Bartholomew's,  Avenue  A  Mission 
of  St.  George's  and  the  Galilee  Mission  of  Calvary, 
were  trying  to  regenerate  the  submerged  and  outcast. 
The  institutional  church  was  in  its  early  stage  of  devel- 
opment. Jacob  A.  Riis  was  rounding  out  his  noble 
career  in  bringing  light  and  hope  to  dark  corners  of 
New  York.  Dr.  C.  H.  Parkhurst  was  bringing  his 
guns  to  bear  upon  the  redlight  district  and  arraigning 
before  the  tribunal  of  public  opinion  the  corruption  of 
the  city  police.  It  was  a  moment  of  social  hope  and 
effort,  of  civic  expectation  and  regeneration,  and  Calvary 
Church  played  its  part  in  the  general  movement. 

At  the  time  when  Dr.  Satterlee  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Domestic  and  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Church  (1882)  and  for  twelve 


i3o  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1889 

years  after,  the  Society  had  no  building  of  its  own. 
For  two  score  years  or  more  it  had  quarters  in  the  Bible 
House  on  Astor  Place.  There  returning  missionaries 
gathered,  there  the  offerings  of  the  faithful  were  gathered 
and  disbursed,  there  the  growing  missionary  interests 
of  the  Church  were  considered.  "The  Board  and  its 
officers  might  have  continued  happy  and  contented, 
so  far  as  they  were  personally  concerned,  in  the  quarters 
that  they  had  occupied  so  long  had  they  not  realized 
that  the  time  had  come  when  it  was  their  duty  to  make 
a  strong  effort  to  supply  the  want  which  others  had  felt 
before  them.  As  representatives  of  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions of  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  the  dignity 
and  importance  of  the  work  required  that  it  should  no 
longer  remain  without  a  suitable  habitation,  a  distinctive 
place  of  its  own,  where  might  be  found  proper  facilities 
for  growing  needs  and  better  opportunity  to  extend 
a  hospitable  welcome  to  all  who  regard  it  as  the  centre 
of  the  Missionary  operations  of  the  Church. "* 

In  1889  a  Committee  of  the  Board,  of  which  Dr.  Sat- 
terlee  was  a  member,  was  appointed  to  eredl  the  Church 
Missions  House  on  property  which  had  already  been 
acquired  on  Fourth  Avenue  adjacent  to  Calvary  Church. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  October  3,  1892,  and  the 
completed  building  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Doane, 
President  of  the  Society,  on  St.  Paul's  Day,  1894.  Dr. 
Satterlee  had  a  double  interest  in  the  building  —  as 
a  member  of  the  Board  and  as  Re&or  of  the  parish  in 
which  it  stood.  "While  it  was  in  progress  of  building, 
Dr.  Satterlee,  as  Redlor,  purchased  two  dwelling  houses 
in  22nd  Street  in  the  rear,  which  are  now  used  in  con- 
junction with  Calvary  Parish. "2 

The  proximity  of  his  own  home  to  the  Church  Missions 
House  made  him  sooner  or  later  a  neighbor  to  most  of 
the  Church's  missionaries  as  they  found  their  way  thither 
from  their  various   fields. 

1  Spirit  of  Missions,  January,  1894. 

2  From  a  statement  by  the  Rev.  Joshua  Kimber. 


1892]  STONE  UPON  STONE  131 

"To  be  a  missionary  of  the  Society  was  always  a 
warrant  of  friendship  personally  with  Dr.  Satterlee. 
His  Church  and  rectory  were  always  open  to  those  who 
came  home  on  furlough,  weary  with  the  burden  and  heat 
of  the  day  at  the  front,  and  such  were  always  assured 
of  a  sympathetic  and  helpful  listener  as  they  told  of  their 
work  and  its  difficulties. "* 

In  1891  Dr.  Satterlee  was  one  of  the  nominees  for 
Bishop  of  Massachusetts  at  the  time  Dr.  Phillips  Brooks 
was  elected.  "On  the  morning  when  the  Massachusetts 
Convention  were  to  elect  their  Bishop,"  wrote  Dr.  T.  M. 
Clark,  Bishop  of  Rhode  Island,  in  his  Reminiscences, 
"I  said  there  was  little  prospect  of  his  [Brooks]  having 
a  majority  of  the  votes,  and  he  replied  that  he  had  no 
doubt  of  it,  'but,'  he  added,  'if  I  am  not  elected  this 
morning  I  am  ready  to  go  into  the  Convention  this 
afternoon  and  vote  for  the  other  candidate.  Dr.  Satter-  . 
lee  will  be  entirely  satisfactory  to  me.'  The  following 
letter  from  Dr.  Brooks  to  his  brother  refers  to  the 
matter  in  similar  terms: 

April  26,  1891. 

Dear  Arthur:  Thank  you  for  your  last  letter.  I  entirely  agree 
with  your  judgment,  and  shall  not  go  to  the  Convention  this 
week,  which  will  not  be  a  difficult  piece  of  self-restraint.  But 
I  think  it  seems  very  much  now  as  if  Satterlee  was  to  be  our 
Bishop.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  state  of  things  consider 
my  election  quite  unlikely.  .  .  .  We  surely  might  have  done 
much  worse.  I  think  the  fine,  at  one  time  hopeful,  boom  for 
another  candidate  will  not  have  been  entirely  in  vain,  if  it  has 
secured  a  well-meaning  and  modern  man  like  Satterlee  rather 
than  a  mediaevalist  with  base  designs.  For  myself,  I  had  come 
to  feel  that  I  should  like  the  place.  Its  attractions  had  grown 
upon  me  the  more  I  had  thought  of  it.  I  had  dwelt  with  pleas- 
ure on  the  idea  of  knowing  the  State  and  seeing  our  Church  do 
a  good  work  for  her.  But  I  shall  not  grieve  at  going  back  to 
Trinity  and  the  familiar,  happy  work  there. 

With  all  love,    A1  ,       , 

Always  your  brother,    p2 

1  From  a  statement  by  the  Rev.  Joshua  Kimber. 
'  Life  of  Phillips  Brooks,  Vol.  ii,  p.  489. 


i32  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1889 

Dr.  Satterlee  was  an  opponent  of  pewed  Churches 
and  it  was  a  trial  to  him  that  Calvary  could  not  imme- 
diately enter  the  ranks  of  free  Churches.  If  free  and 
frank  speaking  could  have  accomplished  this  end  there 
would  have  been  no  delay.  But  it  was  no  easy  task 
to  break  with  established  practice,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  original  plan  for  Calvary  was  that  it  should  be  free. 
In  the  Rector's  Letter  of  1891  he  wrote: 

Calvary  Church  will  never  gain  the  confidence  of  all  classes  in 
the  neighborhood  in  which  God  has  placed  her,  or  do  her  work  as 
New  Testament  Christians  did  theirs,  until  her  welcome  to  all  is 
as  free  as  that  of  the  Gospel  itself.  Of  course,  if  Calvary  is  to  be 
made  a  free  church  with  an  endowment  fund  of  #500,000,  this 
means  self-sacrifice  on  the  part  of  all  for  the  common  object. 
Nor  can  such  objecl:  become  a  common  aim  unless  we  are  all 
convinced  that  it  is  worthy  of  the  self-sacrifice.  After  years  of 
prayerful  consideration  regarding  the  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages of  the  free  church  system,  the  Rector  has  become  pro- 
foundly convinced  that  Calvary  can  never  make  use  of  her  large 
opportunities  until  she  becomes  free,  and  he  earnestly  requests 
all  parishioners  to  read  the  sermon  delivered  in  Calvary  last 
spring  which  has  been  printed  under  the  title  of  "A  Fettered 
Gospel."  There  are  many  objections  against  free  churches,  but 
after  they  are  carefully  and  prayerfully  weighed,  it  will  be  found 
that  they  disappear  under  the  strong  light  of  the  responsibilities 
we  have  to  discharge  to  Christ  and  to  our  brother  men.  But 
one  thing  is  sure.  If  Calvary  in  future  days  is  ever  to  be  made 
free,  she  must  learn  the  lesson  of  the  past  and  have  this  large 
endowment  fund  of  #500,000  to  carry  on  her  work  in  those  com- 
ing days  when  wealthier  parishioners  have  left  her. 


I 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FITTING   THE    CAPSTONE    AT    CALVARY 

1892-1895 

He  builded  better  than  he  knew;  — 
The  conscious  stone  to  beauty  grew. 

•  ••••*••• 

The  passive  Master  lent  his  hand 
To  the  vast  soul  that  o'er  him  -planned; 
And  the  same  power  that  reared  the  shrine 
Bestrode  the  tribes  that  knelt  within. 

EMERSON 

N  the  summer  of  1892  Dr.  Satterlee  again  went 
abroad.  The  two  letters  following  give  some  ac- 
count of  his  experience  in  Europe: 

TO   MRS.    PERCY   R.    PYNE 


The  Hague,  July  77,  i8q2.  —  I  have  just  left  England  after 
a  very  busy  and  to  me,  intensely  interesting  month.  One  object 
of  my  coming  abroad  was  to  look  a  little  deeper  into  some  social 
questions  and  some  phases  of  the  work  in  East  London  that  I 
had  been  interested  in  a  couple  of  years  ago,  and  it  was  my  good 
fortune  to  meet  on  the  steamer  the  Earl  of  Meath,  (who  is  called 
the  successor  of  Lord  Shaftesbury)  and  with  him  I  have  visited 
one  or  two  dozen  places  in  London  where  the  Association  of 
which  he  is  president  has  provided  open  spaces  for  the  poor 
and  especially  for  the  children.  He  very  kindly  invited  Mr. 
W.  T.  Stead,  the  Editor  of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  to  meet  me, 
and  I  found  him  full  of  information  regarding  the  condition  of 
the  people  in  London,  very  suggestive  and  at  times  very  bril- 
liant. The  next  day  I  met  another  remarkable  man,  the  very 
antipode  of  Stead,  quiet,  sensitive,  shy  and  unusually  careful 
about  his  statements,  Mr.  Charles  Booth,  the  Author  of  "Life 
and  Work  in  East  London"  and  from  him  I  gained  some  very 
helpful  hints  regarding  the  collection  of  parish  statistics,  which 
I  hope  will  be  of  service  to  us  in  the  future. 


i34  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1892 

I  spent  a  week  at  Oxford  in  Keble  College  and  saw  many  of 
the  Lux  Mundi  men  and  the  leaders  of  Oxford  Christian  Social 
Union.  Mr.  Gore  I  met  many  times  and  was  more  than  ever 
impressed  with  his  power.  He  has  written  an  article  lately  on 
"The  Social  Teaching  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount "  which  has 
attracted  wide  attention.  The  Economic  Review  in  which  it  was 
published,  after  passing  through  two  or  three  editions,  is  now 
out  of  print,  but  I  believe  the  article  is  to  be  published  sepa- 
rately, and  if  I  can  secure  a  copy  I  shall  send  it  to  you. 

All  these  men  are  deeply  interested  in  Oxford  House,  and  I 
do  not  wonder  at  this,  for  among  all  the  establishments  in  East 
London,  there  is  none  which  so  thoroughly  stands  upon  and 
carries  out  the  sociological  law  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
People's  Palace  has  no  religious  aim  whatever,  its  primary 
object  is  to  amuse:  Toynbee  Hall  attempts  to  educate  the 
people  aesthetically  and  intellectually,  and  with  its  staff  of 
workers  religion  is  of  secondary  importance:  Oxford  House  puts 
first  things  first,  it  takes  men  as  they  are,  and  tries  to  develop 
their  characters  in  that  state  of  life  in  which  God  has  placed 
them.  In  this  it  has  succeeded  beyond  all  expectations.  The 
head  of  Oxford  House  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ingram,  a  man  who  has 
received  call  after  call,  but  continues  here  laboring  among  these 
working  men  with  a  salary  of  only  #750  a  year.  With  him  is 
associated  Mr.  P.  R.  Buchanan,  a  wealthy  tea  merchant  (for- 
merly living  in  the  West  End)  who  has  bought  a  house  and  gone 
to  live  with  his  family  in  Bethnal  Green,  and  here  he  goes  after 
his  office  hours  are  over,  to  work  among  the  working  men.  Mrs. 
Satterlee  and  I  passed  a  couple  of  nights  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Buchanan  and  their  family  and  I  felt  indeed  as  though  the  New 
Testament  days  were  not  over.  I  met  and  talked  with  the  work- 
ing men  myself,  gaining  a  close  glimpse  of  that  of  which  I  had 
seen  the  outside  two  years  ago,  and  I  understand  now  why 
Oxford  House  reaches  the  working  classes  as  no  other  institution 
has  yet  been  able  to  do.  Imagine  a  Burlington  Arcade,  lined 
with  cooperative  shops,  a  grocery,  shoe,  book,  and  dry  goods 
stores,  a  pharmacy,  a  temperance  bar,  and,  at  the  back,  Oxford 
Hall,  where  all  the  meetings  and  Church  services  are  held.  Then 
above,  are  billiard  rooms  (with  fifteen  or  twenty  billiard  tables) 
card  tables,  Committee  Rooms,  etc.  The  membership  of  this 
Club  is  about  1200.  Closely  associated  with  this,  and  founded 
upon  a  similar  plan,  are  the  "Tee  To  Turn  Club"  at  Commer- 


1895]       FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY      135 

cial  Road,  White  Chapel,  Shoreditch,  Hackney  Downs,  and 
Stamford  Hill  of  all  of  which  Mr.  Buchanan  is  president.  The 
membership  of  these  combined  clubs  is  between  five  and  six  thou- 
sand; the  men  understand  plainly  that  the  motive  which  ani- 
mates Mr.  Ingram,  Mr.  Buchanan  and  their  co-labourers  from 
Oxford  University,  is  distinctly  a  religious  motive.  The  club 
rooms  are  furnished  and  provided  for  them  but  they  have  to 
pay  the  rent  and  meet  all  the  current  expenses.  They  find  that 
they  need  to  be  dire&ed  and  wisely  advised  in  the  doing  of  this, 
and  here  the  influence  of  Mr.  Buchanan  and  the  gentlemen  tells. 

I  have  become  so  interested  in  all  this  that  they  have  asked 
me  (just  because  I  am  an  outsider)  to  write  the  article  on  Oxford 
House  in  the  Economic  Review  for  next  October.  I  am  pro- 
foundly convinced  that  through  this  kind  of  movement  the 
working  classes  can  really  be  reached,  after  centuries  of  waiting, 
and  really  inspired  with  Christian  influences,  if  not  brought  back 
to  the  Church  itself.  While  others  are  writing  volumes  upon 
volumes  of  sociology,  here  are  a  few  men  with  Christ's  own 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice  in  their  hearts,  who  do  what  no  others  are 
able  to  do  simply  because  they  go  and  do  it  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment way.  And  this  brings  me  to  the  point  and  the  purpose  for 
which  I  have  written  this  long  letter. 

The  formation  of  such  a  Working  Men's  Club  in  connection 
with  our  Galilee  Mission  has  been  a  continuous  effort  with  us 
for  the  past  five  years.  We  have  failed,  year  by  year,  but  each 
failure  has  been  a  stepping  stone  of  experience.  So  much  did  we 
learn  last  year,  that  in  May  I  took  the  responsibility  of  buying 
the  two  buildings  East  of  the  Galilee  Mission;  one  for  the  Boys' 
Club,  which  is  already  an  unusual  success,  and  the  other  for  our 
Working  Men's  Club. 

Mr.  Buchanan  says  he  will  spend  a  month  with  me  in  New 
York,  and  help  me  to  get  our  Working  Men's  Club  started  on  a 
solid  basis  if  the  Club  rooms  are  ready  for  the  men,  and  as  he 
is  a  unique  man  with  a  unique  experience,  I  feel  that  this  is  a 
providential  opportunity.  Mr.  Buchanan  has  already  been  on 
the  ground.  He  met  a  few  gentlemen  in  Calvary  Redory  last 
May,  President  Low,  Dr.  Greer,  Dr.  Huntington,  Mr.  Grinnell, 
the  Editor  of  the  Christian  Union  and  the  Christian  at  Work, 
etc.,  etc.,  last  May,  and  any  of  these  can  tell  you  what  a  pro- 
found impression  he  made  upon  all  who  were  present  then, 
especially  upon  our  young  men  workers. 


136  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

Now  I  see  this  open  door  before  me  and  a  great  opportunity; 
I  know  how  the  work  is  to  be  done;  I  have  the  young  men  at 
my  side  who  have  the  experience  to  do  it  and  who  will  have  Mr. 
Buchanan  as  a  temporary  coadjutor;  I  have  also  the  house  for 
the  club,  with  five  big  floors  and  all  the  room  that  is  needed; 
I  have  (thanks  to  Miss  Bruce)  a  self-supporting  Coffee  House, 
to  be  used  in  connexion  with  the  Club,  by  the  members  with 
their  wives  and  children.  Lastly  I  see  my  way  very  plainly 
before  me  how  to  make  the  Working  Men's  Club  self-supporting 
also. 

Mrs.  Pyne  caught  the  infe&ion  of  Dr.  Satterlee's 
enthusiasm  and  gave  him  her  support  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Working  Men's  Club.  This  second  letter 
again  refers  to  the  project: 

TO   MRS.    PYNE 

London,  Sept.  1,  18Q2.  —  I  want  to  tell  you  all  about  the  work 
of  Oxford  House  when  I  see  you.  It  impresses  me  greatly  and  I 
will  send  you  an  article  which  is  to  be  published  in  the  Economic 
Review  in  October.  Toynbee  Hall  is  interesting  but  its  work 
seems  to  me  more  superficial.  Oxford  House  takes  men  as  they 
are  and  where  they  are,  and  educates  them  to  make  the  best 
use  of  their  opportunities  in  that  state  of  life  in  which  it  has 
pleased  God  to  call  them.  I  spent  this  afternoon  at  the  "Church 
Army"  which  as  you  probably  know  is  an  organization  some- 
what like  the  Salvation  Army,  but  with  strong  Church  principles. 
It  is  very  successful  and  among  other  things  it  has  fifty  trained 
nurses  on  its  working  staff.  It  has  moreover  twenty  or  thirty 
"Labour  Homes"  or  places  where  a  wayfaring  man  is  able  to 
sleep  and  eat,  paying  his  way  by  labour,  until  he  is  set  on  his 
feet.  They  tell  me  that  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  men  who 
come  to  these  homes  are  rescued  socially  (for  the  time  being) 
but  that  only  five  per  cent  of  them  are  religiously  converted. 

The  Salvation  Army  figures  do  not  differ  materially  from 
these;  and  our  Galilee  Mission's  rates  are  about  the  same.  The 
discouragements  that  we  feel  therefore  are  shared  by  all  Christian 
workers.  How  true  our  Lord's  words  were,  "Many  are  called 
but  few  are  chosen." 

I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Gore  last  week  and  am  in  hopes 
that  he  will  come  to  America  this  winter  for  a  short  time.     I 


1895]       FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY      137 

believe  I  wrote  you  that  Churchill  and  I  attended  a  Retreat 
conducted  by  him  in  Keble  College,  Oxford,  and  it  was  an  occa- 
sion that  we  shall  long  remember. 

After  the  wedding  of  Mr.  Cameron  and  Miss  Rhinelander 
in  the  little  Church  at  Lucerne  (a  Church  strange  to  say,  that 
I,  as  Bishop  Doane's  representative  two  years  ago,  helped  to 
build),  we  went  to  the  Dolomites.  Every  fresh  time  I  see  these 
wonderful  mountains  they  appear  more  beautiful,  such  color 
effects  one  never  sees  elsewhere.  Turner's  pictures  are  reminders 
of  what  one  beholds  all  the  time  in  the  Dolomites.  They  appeal 
so  vividly  to  the  imagination  that  one  can  think  of  nothing 
but  cities  in  the  skies,  enchanted  palaces  and  [dream]  castles. 
Gazing  up  at  these  strange  forms  rising  up  over  a  foreground  of 
pine  trees  they  look  like  some  weird  unearthly  vision. 

From  the  Dolomites  we  went  (the  Rives  were  with  us  as 
before)  J:o  Venice,  and  here  for  the  first  time,  in  August  we  struck 
hot  weather,  the  very  weather  you  have  been  having.  Yet 
though  the  thermometer  stood  at  1040  it  was  not  unbearable. 
We  were  out  all  day  long  in  a  gondola  and  Mr.  Hopkinson 
Smith  kept  on  at  his  sketches  all  day  long. 

We  are  now  in  London  and  expect  to  sail  for  home  on  Sept. 
14.  I  shall  hope  to  call  upon  you  in  the  beginning  of  October 
and  tell  you  all  about  the  Working  Men's  Club  which  you  have 
so  generously  offered  to  help  us  in  establishing. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  cholera  scare  just  now  and  the 
people  of  every  city  warn  us  against  every  other  city.  (The 
Carlsbad  doctors  just  now  are  contra  mundum)  but  each  city 
considers  itself  perfectly  safe,  so  it  was  in  Paris,  so  it  is  here  in 
London  now. 

Upon  his  return  to  New  York  he  set  to  work  to  de- 
velop his  East  Side  plans. 

TO   MRS.    PYNE 

061.  22,  *Q2.  —  I  want  to  have  a  conference  with  you,  first 
about  the  work  of  the  Archdeaconry  Committee  and  second 
about  the  Working  Men's  Club. 

I  am  greatly  encouraged  about  the  former.  I  wish  you  could 
have  heard  the  report  of  the  work  of  the  various  Archdeaconries 


i38  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

to  the  Diocesan  Missionary  Board,  you  would  have  been  en- 
couraged to  see  and  hear  how  others  are  working  upon  the  very 
lines  that  we  have  adopted. 

Archdeacon  Mackay-Smith  l  has  said  to  me  again  and  again 
of  late,  "I  wish  other  parishes  would  take  hold  of  the  work  as 
yours  is  doing;  Calvary  takes  the  lead  in  this,  and  she  is  setting 
an  example  which  will  be  very  helpful  to  the  sister  parishes." 
This  or  words  to  this  effecl:,  he  has  uttered  many  times  and  I 
think  that  you,  as  the  head  of  our  Archdeaconry  Committee, 
ought  to  know  the  place  we  are  really  filling  and  the  influence 
we  are  silently  exerting.  I  think  the  work  is  in  a  condition  now 
to  be  expanded.  What  we  need  most  of  all  is  new  visitors,  and 
Mrs.  Rives  hopes  to  see  you  soon  to  talk  about  this. 

Regarding  the  other  work,  if  I  looked  hopefully  upon  the 
establishment  of  a  Working  Men's  Club  when  I  wrote  to  you 
from  England,  I  feel  ten-fold  more  encouraged  now  after  I  have 
conferred  with  the  managers  of  the  Boys'  Club,  of  the  Free 
Reading  Room  Association,  of  the  Chapel  Board  and  the  Galilee 
Mission  and  the  Coffee  House.  There  is  absolute  unanimity  of 
judgment,  not  only  regarding  the  expediency,  but  the  feasibility 
of  my  plan  of  establishing  a  Working  Men's  Club. 

All  our  work  up  to  the  present  time  has  been  a  success  and  a 
stepping  stone  to  this  end.  And  Mr.  Buchanan,  the  Vice-Prin- 
cipal of  Oxford  House,  sails  to-day  from  England  and  will  help 
us  in  founding  a  Working  Men's  Club  on  a  real  Tee  To  Turn 
basis.  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  write  all  this  to  you  after  your 
kindrress  in  offering  to  assist  me.  If  our  Working  Men's  Club 
is  a  success,  it  will  be  a  real  substitute  for  the  liquor  saloons,  it 
will  be  but  the  first  of  many  others  that  will  be  established 
like  a  net-work  all  over  the  city,  and  I  shall  always  feel,  if 
it  is  a  success,  gratitude  to  you  for  having  enabled  me  to  go 
onward.  .  .  . 

I  know  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  Mr.  Gordon's  work  in 
Mexico  is  now  under  the  Board  of  Missions,  and  that  it  has 
received  from  this  last  General  Convention  full  requisition  as  a 
Mission  of  our  Church  until  it  becomes  self-supporting.  There 
was  much  opposition,  but  it  was  overcome  and  we  shall  yet  see 
bright  days  for  that  work  in  Mexico  which  has  had  so  many 
prayers. 

1  Afterwards  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania. 


1895]       FITTING  THE   CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY      139 

This  reference  to  the  Mexican  Church  makes  it  fitting 
at  this  juncture  to  give  some  account  of  its  history  and 
its  relation  to  the  American  Church.  No  one  individual 
rendered  a  larger  service  in  this  difficult  question,  or 
contributed  more  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos,  than  Dr. 
Satterlee. 

With  the  new  Constitution  framed  after  that  of  the 
United  States  and  sanctioned  in  1857  by  the  latest  pro- 
visional president,  Comonfort,  Mexico  was  accorded 
religious  liberty.  The  Roman  Catholicism  of  the  day 
was  in  most  parts  semi-pagan  as  well  as  morally  deficient. 
The  Church  owned  one-third  of  the  real  and  personal 
property  of  the  republic  until  the  new  order  separated 
Church  and  State  and  nationalized  the  property  (1859). 
This  was  the  signal  for  a  small  group  of  Christians,  who 
had  been  alienated  from  the  Church  of  their  fathers 
by  its  corruption,  to  look  abroad  for  aid.  In  1864  the 
Foreign  Committee  of  our  Board  of  Missions  became 
interested  in  the  reform  movement  which  by  then 
had  taken  shape  in  an  organization.  Though  an  agent 
who  was  sent  by  the  Board  to  investigate  conditions 
reported  favorably,  no  action  was  taken.  A  memo- 
rial presented  by  the  reformers  in  1866  asking  for  the 
consecration  of  a  bishop  received  no  official  recogni- 
tion. About  the  same  time  a  new  group  of  reformers 
organized  "La  Iglesia  de  Jesus'  ("The  Church  of 
Jesus").  Beginning  in  1872  "the  American  Church 
Missionary  Society  took  charge  of  the  financial  interests 
of  the  Church  of  Jesus,  and  was  for  five  years  its  generous 
supporter.  "l 

A  second  memorial  in  1874  resulted  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Commission  by  the  House  of  Bishops  to 
consider  the  petition  of  the  reformers.  The  Bishop  of 
Delaware  (Dr.  Lee)  was  delegated  by  the  Commission  to 
visit  Mexico,  render  such  episcopal  services  as  the  moment 
required,   and     report    back    to    them.     His     report  was 

1  From  a  statement  issued  by  the  Provisional  Committee  on  Church  work  in 
Mexico,  of  which  Dr.  Satterlee  was  Executive  Chairman. 


i4o  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

favorable  and  a  Covenant  drawn  up  by  the  Synod  was 
presented.  The  House  of  Bishops  ratified  the  Covenant 
in  1875  and  empowered  the  Commission  to  carry  out 
its  provisions.  The  Commission  endorsed  the  formu- 
laries of  the  Church  of  Jesus  and  requested  the  Pre- 
siding Bishop  to  take  order  for  the  consecration  of  three 
bishops  who  had  been  duly  elected  by  the  Synod.  The 
Rev.  Henry  C.  Riley,  formerly  a  New  York  presbyter, 
was  the  only  one  who  could  fulfil  canonical  requirements. 
He  was  consecrated  in  1879  as  Bishop  of  the  Valley  of 
Mexico. 

In  1884,  this  bishop  having  proved  a  failure,  so  far  as  his 
particular  work  was  concerned,  was  induced  to  resign  his 
jurisdiction,  and  in  order  to  carry  forward  the  work  of  the 
Church,  the  said  Church  petitioned,  in  1885,  to  be  con- 
sidered and  treated  as  a  mission  of  the  American  Church, 
until  the  evils  of  the  past  should  be  remedied  and  the 
ecclesiastical,  canonical,  and  financial  conditions  of  the 
Mexican  Church  should  permit  the  carrying  out  of  the 
original  plan.  An  organization,  composed  of  Clergy  and 
Readers,  was  formed,  under  the  name  of  the  Cuerpo  Eccle- 
siastico,  to  be  the  local  authority  in  Mexico,  and  this  was 
recognized  by  nearly  all  the  congregations  and  by  the 
American  bishops.1 

The  course  pursued  in  consecrating  Bishop  Riley  had 
never  received  general  approval,  and  his  resignation 
reopened  the  question  of  jurisdiction.  There  were  those 
who  were  hostile  to  intervention  on  the  score  that  it 
was  contrary  to  Catholic  principles  to  intrude  in  the 
domain  of  the  venerable  and  fully  organized  Church 
which  had  held  jurisdiction  for  centuries. 

The  discussions  were  frequent  and  serious  because  the 
matter  related  to  the  attitude  of  the  Church  in  regard  to 
historic  order.  It  was  due  to  Dr.  Satterlee  that  the  prob- 
lem was  solved  on  precisely  that  ground.  The  Church  Club 
of  New  York   asked   for  a  discussion  of  "intrusion"  at  a 

1  From  a  statement  issued  by  the  Provisional  Committee  on  Church  work  in 
Mexico,  of  which  Dr.  Satterlee  was  Executive  Chairman. 


1 89S]       FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY      141 

meeting  to  be  held  for  that  purpose.  Two  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  General  Theological  Seminary  were  chosen 
to  conduct  the  debate  in  opposition  to  the  work  in  Mexico, 
and  Dr.  Satterlee  and  a  friend  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  missions,  and  who  served  with  him  on  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  work  in  Mexico  advocated  its  continuance. 
The  discussion  was  brief.  Dr.  Satterlee  made  a  lucid  state- 
ment of  the  conditions  under  which  the  reform  movement 
was  started  and  the  application  for  help  was  made  to  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.1 

Dr.  Satterlee  was  a  pupil  of  Bishop  Coxe  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  and  her  order,  and  he  knew  his 
ground.  His  argument  which  won  the  day  was  that 
so-called  "intrusion*  was  covered  by  the  ancient  canons 
as  well  as  being  implied  in  the  character  of  the  episcopal 
office.  A  bishop  was  not  primarily  a  local  official  but 
a  bishop  of  the  Church.  His  assignment  to  a  specified 
territorial  jurisdiction  was  merely  a  matter  of  convenience 
and  order.  Under  certain  conditions,  such  as  prevailed 
in  Mexico,  it  was  not  only  the  right,  but  also  the  duty, 
of  a  branch  of  the  Church  Catholic  to  minister  to  the 
distress  of  Christians  upon  whom  were  imposed  unwar- 
ranted terms  of  communion,  and  who  were  suffering 
from  ecclesiastical  tyranny  and  corruption,  by  sending 
to  their  succor  a  bishop  who  would  furnish  them  with 
those  spiritual  privileges  and  opportunities,  which  were 
their  inherent  right  as  Christians. 

The  appeal  from  Mexico  is  from  a  people  who,  being  unable 
longer  to  accept  the  distinctive  teachings  of  the  Roman  Church, 
desire  to  reform  the  religion  of  their  country,  following  the  prin- 
ciples that  governed  the  English  reformers.  As  the  authorities 
of  the  Church  in  which  these  people  were  bred  will  not  allow 
any  reformation  to  be  carried  forward  within  that  Church,  it 
was  necessary  to  organize  a  reformed  Church,  in  which  the 
Faith,  the  Order,  and  the  Ethics  of  the  Gospel  might  be  held  as 
they  are  in  the  Churches  of  the  Anglican  Communion.  The 
appeal   is   from   our   brothers   in   Christ   to   us   their  brethren  — 

1  From  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  George  Williamson  Smith,  D.D. 


i42  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

brothers  who  are  struggling  out  of  ignorance,  superstition,  and 
darkness,  into  light,  faith,  and  knowledge;    and  it  seems  to  be 
a  strange  idea  that,  while  we  are  in  duty  bound  to  carry  the 
Gospel   to  the  heathen,  we  should   not  go  to  the  help  of  our 
brethren  in  Mexico,  because  they  are  our  brethren!     That  which 
one  would   think  would   give  them   a  double  claim   upon   us  is 
made  the   plea  why  we   should   recognize  no   claim   at   all!     If 
these  brethren  were  content  to  remain,  and  to  have  their  coun- 
trymen remain,  in  the  condition  of  their  fathers,  perhaps  some- 
thing might  reasonably   be  said   against  interfering  with  them; 
but  when  they  stretch  out  their  hands  and  lift  up  their  voices 
in   appeals  to   us   for  help,   how  can  we   refuse  to  hear  them? 
"Whoso  hath  this  world's  good  and  seeth  his  brother  have  need 
and   shutteth   up   his   compassion   from   him,   how   dwelleth   the 
love  of  God  in  him?"    "While  we  have  time  let  us  do  good  unto 
all  men,  and  especially  unto  them  that  are  of  the  household  of 
faith."    The  work  we  are  called  on  to  do  for  these  brethren  is  to 
help  them  along  until  they  are  able  to  stand  and  go  alone,  and 
particularly  in  the  education  of  their  children,  young  men  for  the 
Ministry,  and  young  women  for  teachers  of  the  parochial  schools.1 
At  the  General  Convention   of  1886   the   Board   oT  Missions 
declined  to  place  the  Mexican  Church  on  the  footing  of  a  Mis- 
sion, but  instructed  its  Board  of  Managers  to  appoint  a  presby- 
ter,   to   be   nominated    by   the    Presiding    Bishop,    to    guide  and 
counsel  the  petitioners  in  the  future  conduct  of  their  work.    The 
Board  consented  to  receive  contributions  for  the  work,  but  would 
make  no   appropriation   for  it   from   the  General  Mission   fund. 
This  action  left  the  Mexican  Church  in  a  position  more  isolated 
than  that  occupied  by  the  Church  in  Haiti. 

Early  in  1887,  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Gordon,  of  Smyrna,  Del,  was 
provided  for  by  the  action  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  and  went 
to  Mexico.  The  Board  of  Managers  required  that  some  friend 
of  the  Mexican  work  should  guarantee  the  payment  of  Mr. 
Gordon's  salary  and  this  was  done  by  the  Redor  of  Calvary 
Church,  New  York  City.2 

Mr.  Gordon  labored  assiduously  and  effectively  until 
ill-health  necessitated  his  resignation  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  that  devoted  servant  of  Christ,  Rev.  Henry 
Forrester  of  Socorro,  New  Mexico,  in  1893. 

1  In  re  Mexican  Church.  2  Statement  of  Provisional  Committee. 


1 895]       FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY      143 

For  a  considerable  stretch  of  time,  then,  (1886-1904) 
the  ecclesiastical  situation  in  this  country  of  provisional 
presidents  and  constitutions,  was  that  there  was  a  pro- 
visional bishop  (the  Presiding  Bishop  of  our  Church) 
acting  through  an  episcopal  commissary  for  episcopal 
functions,  and  through  his  presbyterial  appointee  for 
general  administration.  The  Commission  ceased  to  exist, 
having  concluded  its  duties.  The  Cuerpo  Ecclesiastico, 
or  between  sessions  the  Standing  Committee,  was  the 
local  governing  body,1  subject  to  the  resident  repre- 
sentative in  Mexico  of  the  Provisional  Bishop.  The 
Board  of  Missions,  which  seems  to  have  given  a  timid 
and  temporary  recognition  to  the  Mexican  Church  as 
a  foreign  mission,  would  accept  no  financial  responsibility 
but  commended  the  work  to  the  generosity  of  American 
contributors.  A  Provisional  Committee  on  Church  work 
in  Mexico,  of  which  Dr.  Satterlee  was  executive  chair- 
man and  chief  burden-bearer,  was  financial  agent  and 
American  exchequer  of  this  anomalous  ecclesiastical 
infant,  La  Iglesia  Catolica  Mexicana,  as  it  was  latterly 
known. 

The  year  1892  closed  a  decade  of  service  at  Calvary 
of  Dr.  Satterlee.  In  his  retrospect  he  exalts  the  motto 
of  his  first  parish  as  the  ruling  idea  of  his  second  — 
'Keep  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace." 
Unity  in  diversity  was  a  favorite  theme  of  his.  It 
would  have  to  be  so  in  the  mind  of  a  man  with  as 
broad  a  vision  as  he.  Calvary  Parish  had  not  been 
unsuccessful  in  exemplifying  this  principle.  He  wishes 
for  a  closer  co-operative  life  in  the  parish  than  it  has 
yet  attained. 

The  opportunity  is  now  presenting  itself  for  the  co-operation 
of  Calvary  Parish  with  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  in  which 
it  stands  in  social  work.  The  people  themselves  are  ripe  and 
ready  for  such  an  advance  on  our  part.  They  do  not,  indeed, 
want   to    be    patronized    or   proselytized,    and    they   cannot    be 

1  Of  everything  but  the  Mrs.  Hooker  Memorial  School  which  was  under  the 
exclusive  direction  of  Mr.  Forrester. 


I44  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

bought  with  money;  but  they  are  willing  to  co-operate  with 
us  in  all  legitimate  and  self-respecting  ways;  and  surely  if  the 
Church  of  Christ  is  the  light  of  the  world;  surely  if  she  is  the 
salt  of  the  earth;  surely  if  she  is  like  the  leaven  which  a  woman 
took  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  it  is  pre-eminently  her 
duty  to  help  those  neighbors  who  want  to  help  themselves,  so 
long  as  she  can  do  so  "in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  For 
what  is  co-operation  but  Christ's  own  method  of  drawing  us 
gradually  upward  and  onward  from  earth  to  Heaven?  What  is 
the  Church  herself  but  a  society  of  redeemed  men  whom  Christ 
associates    as   co-laborers   with    Him    in    the    conversion   of  the 

world  ? 

We  believe  that  the  time  has  come  for  the  Church  of  Christ 
to  emphasize  that  Gospel  principle  of  co-operation  by  every 
means  in  her  power;  we  believe  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  her  to 
set  an  example  in  co-operation  to  all  about  her;  we  believe 
that  in  so  doing  she  will  be  like  a  city  set  on  a  hill,  for  when 
this  same  spirit  of  co-operation,  in  contradistinction  to  competi- 
tion, eventually  becomes  a  ruling  spirit  in  civilization,  many  if 
not  most  of  the  clouds  of  social  trouble  which  are  now  looming 
up  upon  the  world's  horizon  will  evaporate  and  disappear. 

Co-operation  means  education,  and  this  has  already  been 
shown  in  our  own  history.  For  the  workers  in  Calvary  Parish, 
through  the  experience  derived  from  co-operating  with  one 
another  in  spiritual  ways,  have  been  unconsciously  training  them- 
selves to  do  a  more  difficult  work  and  to  come  in  touch  with  the 
life  of  the  people  in  other  ways.1 

The  parish  lost  two  prominent  figures  during  1892: 

It  was  in  the  early  summer  that  Dr.  Charles  D.  Scudder 
passed  away  from  us;  yet  his  influence,  especially  among  our 
young  men,  is  as  fresh  and  adive  to-day  as  though  he  were  still 
present  with  us.  There  was  an  eternal  quality  and  worth  in  his 
life  which  radiated  its  power  upon  all,  and  there  are  many, 
among  whom  his  own  rector  is  enrolled,  who  regard  it  as  one  of 
the  privileges  of  their  lives  to  have  known  him,  to  have  been 
influenced  by  him  and  to  have  labored  with  him  side  by  side 
in  the  spread  of  God's  Kingdom  in  this  earth. 

Another  form,  once  prominently  identified  with  Calvary,  has 

1  Calvary  Year  Booky  1892-1893. 


1 895]       FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY      145 

passed  away  here  to  be  seen  no  more.  If  ever  there  were  a 
true-hearted,  magnanimous  woman  it  was  Mrs.  Washburn,  the 
sainted  widow  of  the  last  rector,  who  has  now  been  called  to 
join  those  blessed  ranks  above.1 

The  material  welfare  of  the  parish  did  not  suffer 
during  the  financial  crisis  which  broke  on  the  country 
in  1893.  Among  other  acquisitions  the  two  buildings 
(344  &  346  East  23rd  St.)  adjacent  to  and  needed  for 
the  Galilee  Mission,  which  had  been  purchased  on  faith 
were  permanently  secured  by  the  generosity  of  Mrs. 
Aldrich. 

Churchill  " graduated  from  the  Seminary  with  the 
class  of  1893  and  was  ordained  to  the  diaconate  with 
twenty  or  more  of  his  classmates  on  Trinity  Sunday 
(May  28)  by  Bishop  Potter,  in  Calvary  Church/' 2  Dr. 
Satterlee  was  the  preacher.  He  took  for  his  text  Matt, 
xx,  22:  "Jesus  answered:  Ye  know  not  what  ye  ask: 
Are  ye  able  to  drink  of  the  cup  that  I  shall  drink  of,  and 
to  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with? 
They  say  unto  him,  We  are  able.'3 

Of  all  contrasts  in  the  world,  he  begins,  there  is  none  greater 
than  that  between  the  fishermen  of  Galilee  and  the  writers  of 
the  New  Testament. 

Go  down  to  some  sea-side  village;  see  what  a  fisherman's  life 
there  is  like.  And  then  call  up  the  daily  existence  of  Peter  and 
Andrew,  James  and  John  before  they  met  Christ  —  toiling  at 
night  in  their  boats,  selling  their  fish  in  the  market-place  in 
the  morning,  returning  to  the  beach  to  wash  and  mend  their 
nets,  talking  in  the  usual  fisherman's  talk,  without  one  thought 
of  the  great  wide  world  beyond.  And  then  compare  with  this 
the  after-life  of  these  same  fishermen  —  travelling,  as  apostles  of 
Christ,  to  all  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire;  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Emperor  himself;  having  the  care  of  a  thousand 
churches;  writing  books  that  have  been  the  theological  guide 
of  eighteen  Christian  centuries. 

What  was  it  that  transformed  these  men?  How  is  it  that 
they  came  to  aspire  to  share  Christ's  cup  and  baptism? 

1  Calvary  Tear  Book,  1892-1893.  2  A  Fisher  of  Men,  p.  26. 


146  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

This  ambition  to  be  great,  whence  came  it?  It  certainly  did 
not  stir  in  the  disciples'  breast  when  they  were  fishermen.  No 
thought  had  they  then  beyond  their  boats  and  their  nets. 

But  when  they  began  to  be  companions  of  Christ,  and  beheld 
the  power  of  His  teachings  over  the  thousands  that  hung  spell- 
bound on  His  words,  and  saw  what  He  meant  when  He  called 
them  to  be  fishers  of  men,  then  this  flame  of  ambition  was 
kindled. 

It  seems  paradoxical  that  in  training  them  to  be  fishers  of 
men,  not  the  love  of  men  but  the  love  of  power  should  have 
been  developed  in  them.  Yet,  it  was  not  strange.  It  was  a 
necessary  step  in  the  training  itself.  Christ  could  do  nothing 
with  the  sluggish  torpid  hearts  of  these  fishermen,  until  they  were 
stimulated  to  see  how  much  greater  was  the  life  of  one  who 
caught  men  than  their  former  life  in  the  boats.  The  one  thing 
needful  was  to  develop  the  social  motive  in  their  breasts,  after- 
wards He  could  deal  with  the  temptations  that  came  with  it. 

Hence,  Christ  did  not  rebuke  that  desire  to  be  great.  When 
He  found  the  disciples  moved  with  indignation  against  James 
and  John  He  did  not  join  with  them,  and  utter  the  expected 
protest,  on  the  contrary  He  fanned  the  flame  of  ambition  and 
said  "Whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your 
servant,"  and  only  rebuked  the  form  that  it  took.  Calling  all 
the  disciples  to  Him,  He  then  and  there  drew  the  sharp  dis- 
tinction between  a  false  and  true  ambition. 

The  contrast  between  true  and  false  greatness  is  drawn  —  the 
purpose  to  rule  and  the  purpose  to  serve.  To  partake  of  Christ's 
priesthood  is  to  partake  of  His  motive,  His  activities,  His  humil- 
ity, His  sufferings. 

The  word  "priest"  has  become  a  name  of  ill-omen  in  the 
Church.  The  power  of  the  priesthood  and  the  power  of  priest- 
craft are  regarded  as  synonyms.  But,  brethren,  this  is  only 
because  men  have  abused  the  office.  Corruptio  optimi  pessima, 
a  blessing  misused  is  ever  changed  into  a  curse;  a  bad  priest's 
power  for  evil  is  only  the  momentum  and  perversion  of  some 
former  good  priest's  power  for  righteousness. 

The  distinction  between  the  priesthood  of  the  heathen  world, 
yes,  even  of  the  Jews  themselves,  and  the  priesthood  of  the 
Christian  Church  is  as  high  as  Heaven.  Between  the  two  stands 
the  cross  of  Christ.  The  law  of  all  human  priesthoods  is  to 
sacrifice   others,   and    their    tendency   is    toward  selfish  power. 


CALVARY     CHURCH,     NEW     YORK 

Interior 


1 895]       FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY      147 

The  vital  principle  of  the  Christian  priesthood  is  to  suffer  for 
others,  and  the  law  of  its  development  is  the  power  of  self- 
sacrifice. 

And  if  Christian  priests  have  dragged  their  office  in  the  dust, 
and  made  its  very  name  an  offence  to  Christian  ears,  it  is  be- 
cause they  have  ministered  at  Christian  altars  in  the  sordid 
spirit  of  the  pagan  priest. 

What  a  lesson  in  church  history  lies  before  us  in  the  popular 
substitution  of  the  word  "pastor"  for  the  dreaded  name  of 
"priest."  It  is  a  lesson  that  the  Church  of  the  future  will  never 
forget.  Yet,  there  is  but  one  Pastor  in  the  Church  of  Christ; 
the  only  real  Pastor,  the  only  ideal  Pastor  is  the  Good  Shep- 
herd who  gave  His  life  for  the  sheep;  and  men  are  but  the 
ministers  of  His  Pastorhood. 

So  there  is  but  One  Priest  in  the  Church  —  one  great  High 
Priest  who  is  passed  into  the  Heavens.  Fix  your  eyes  on  Christ. 
He  is  still  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God,  present  in  an  outward  and 
visible  form  in  the  heaven  of  heavens,  and  men  on  earth  are 
but  ministers  of  His  priesthood  —  doing  the  human  part  of  His 
work  on  earth  —  ministering  to  His  people  the  sacraments  He 
Himself  has  ordained,  as  outward  and  visible  signs  of  His  inward 
spiritual  union  with  them. 

Again,  there  is  another  distinction  between  the  Christian  and 
heathen  priesthood  which  is  to  be  ceaselessly  borne  in  mind. 
The  pagan  priesthood  represents  the  principle  of  caste.  There  is 
no  sacerdotal  caste  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  for  all  Christ's 
people  belong  to  the  priestly  clan.  They  are  "a  chosen  genera- 
tion," "a  race  of  kings  and  of  priests,"  "a  royal  priesthood  to 
offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ."  The  priest  of  the  Church  is  not,  therefore,  separate 
from  his  brethren,  he  is  the  representative  of  his  brethren.  On 
the  one  hand,  he  stands  as  the  minister  of  Christ's  priesthood 
to  the  people;  on  the  other  hand  he  stands  as  the  minister  of 
the  priesthood  of  the  laity  to  God.  He  has  thus  a  double  re- 
sponsibility resting  upon  him:  he  is  united  by  the  closest  bond 
of  union  and  loyalty  to  Christ  on  the  one  side,  and  Christ's 
people  on  the  other;  and  woe  be  to  him  if  he  is  unfaithful  to 
this  double  trust.  Brethren,  that  strong  cry,  that  we  so  often 
hear,  against  sacerdotalism  is  needful  in  warning  us  against  the 

errors  of  a  pagan  priesthood,  and  holding  us  back  from  import- 
ing  those  errors   into  Christ's   religion.      But   let   US   beware   lest 


i48  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1892 

that  same  outcry  holds  us  back,  on  the  other  side,  from  recog- 
nizing the  fulness  of  our  Christian  privilege. 

If  Christ,  our  priest,  is  in  heaven,  and  His  people  on  earth, 
as  a  race  of  kings  and  priests,  are  partakers  with  Him  of  His 
priestly  life  of  self  sacrifice,  then  Christianity  is  sacerdotal 
throughout. 

This  age  needs  a  great  Sursum  Corda;  the  people  need  to  lift 
up  their  hearts  to  their  ascended  Lord,  to  realise  that  real  union 
with  Him  is  only  possible  in  a  life  of  self-sacrifice,  to  remember 
that  the  human  ministry  is  especially  ordained  to  continue  on 
earth  the  human  work  of  our  ascended  Lord,  who  is  Himself 
the  one  Deacon,  the  one  Priest,  the  one  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of 
our  souls. 

Brethren,  ye  who  are  to-day  to  be  admitted  to  the  Holy 
Order  of  Deacons,  lift  up  your  eyes  to  Him,  who,  this  day, 
stands  before  you  as  the  Deacon  of  the  Church.  Look  upon 
that  work  of  His  in  Galilee,  and  let  it  be  your  constant  inspiration. 
However  humble  the  sphere  to  which  you  are  called,  it  cannot 
be  so  humble  as  that  in  which  the  Man  of  Nazareth  worked; 
however  ignorant  and  common  the  people,  they  are  not  so  lowly 
as  the  Galilean  peasants  to  whom  Christ  ministered.  If  ever  you 
are  tempted  by  the  thought  of  the  great  outside  world  from 
which  you  seem  left  out  and  forgotten,  think  of  Christ's  minis- 
try, not  at  Athens  or  Rome,  not  even  among  the  high  priests 
and  doctors  about  the  Temple  courts,  but  among  the  hamlets 
around  the  lake  of  Galilee. 

His  closing  words  are: 

Brethren,  ye  who,  this  day,  are  to  be  admitted  to  the  priest- 
hood, think  of  the  high  privilege  which  awaits  you.  It  is  the 
privilege,  not  only  of  laboring  for  Christ,  but  of  knowing,  as 
Christian  leaders,  the  fellowship  of  Christ's  sufferings  for  His 
Church  —  the  privilege,  as  teachers  and  witnesses  for  His  truth; 
of  bearing  His  shame,  His  reproach,  His  cross;  the  privilege  as 
Christian  priests,  of  being  burden  bearers  to  His  people;  of  stand- 
ing among  them,  as  one  who  suffers  with  them;  of  taking  their 
load  of  shame  and  sorrow  upon  your  own  spirits,  and  of  telling 
the  repentant  ones  how  freely  Christ  forgives  them.  "Are  ye 
able?"  is  Christ's  word  to  you  to-day;  "Are  ye  able?'3  will  be 
His  word  to  you  in  many  a  coming  day  of  trial  and  anxiety  as 
He  beckons  you  onward. 


1 895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       149 

"We  are  able!"  be  it  yours  to  reply.  Able  with  Him  to  do 
and  dare;  able  to  continue  with  Him  in  His  temptations;  able 
for  Him  to  bear  the  awful  temptations  of  this  nineteenth 
century;  able  to  stand  unfalteringly  as  witnesses  to  the  super- 
natural truths  of  His  Religion  —  the  miraculous  Birth  and  Resur- 
rection and  Ascension  of  Him  your  Lord  and  Master;  able  to 
support  the  weak  in  faith  as  well  as  the  weak  in  body;  able  to 
share  the  heroism  of  the  Crucified,  by  being  crucified  with  Him 
to  the  world. 

You  are  to  show  men  that  the  Christian  priest  shrinks  not 
from  a  life  of  suffering  and,  if  it  need  be,  martyrdom.  You,  as  a 
faithful  priest  are  to  love  men  better  than  they  love  themselves 
—  " Though  the  more  you  love,  the  less  you  be  loved." 

Your  motto  is  not  to  be  "Like  people  like  priest,"  but  to 
bring  your  people  up  to  the  level  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  to 
know  nothing  among  them  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified. 

Look  unto  Jesus,  your  great  High  Priest  in  Heaven,  who  for 
the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him,  endured  the  cross,  despising 
the  shame  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 

In  following  Him,  the  richest  of  all  lives  is  before  you,  the 
sufferings  of  the  ministry  and  the  joys  of  the  ministry  —  even 
the  triumphant  joy  that  comes  out  of  suffering  for  Christ's  sake; 
and  a  joy  that  no  man  taketh  from  you  forever  and  forever. 

Lift  up  your  hearts! 

Shortly  after  the  ordination  (June  15),  Churchill  was 
married  at  Calvary,  his  father  officiating,  to  Margaret 
Humbert,  who  died  two  years  later  (Nov.  3,  1895).  He 
was  advanced  to  the  priesthood  the  same  year,  as  his 
wife's  health  compelled  him  to  resign  his  curacy  at  St. 
Peter's,   Albany,    and   go  to  California. 

In  1894  Churchill  was  called  to  Grace  Church,  Morgan- 
ton,  N.C.     As  he  himself  was  unable  to  go  — 

his  father,  without  saying  anything  to  his  son,  took  a  train 
and  went  to  Morganton.  On  his  arrival  there,  as  the  hotel 
accommodations  were  of  a  somewhat  primitive  kind,  he  went  to 
a  private  boarding  house,  which  turned  out  to  be  kept  by  a  lady 
who  was  a  parishioner  of  the  church.  Without  giving  her  any 
clue  to  his  identity  he  proceeded  to  make  some  inquiries  with 
regard  to  the  parish.     She  informed  him  that  the  vestry  had  just 


i5o  •    A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

called  a  Mr.  "Larabee"  from  the  North,  and  expressed  her 
opinion  that  he  would  never  do.  They  had  never  had  a  Northern 
man,  she  said,  and  she  was  afraid  there  would  be  trouble,  as  he 
would  not  understand  them  or  they  him. 

The  Civil  War  with  the  sectional  animosities  it  had  aroused 
and  the  bitter  memories  it  had  left,  evidently  made  the  thought 
of  a  pastor  from  the  North  repugnant  to  her  mind.  Doubtless 
the  isolated  character  of  the  place  and  the  little  intercourse 
which  the  inhabitants  of  this  section  had  had  with  northern  people, 
were  accountable  for  this  feeling,  and  had  stereotyped  a  prejudice 
which  elsewhere  in  the  South,  where  communication  was  freer  and 
the  commercial  and  social  relations  closer,  was  tending  to  dis- 
appear. However,  when  Dr.  Satterlee  informed  her  that  it  was 
his  son  whom  the  vestry  had  called,  she  exhibited  the  tradi- 
tional kindness  and  courtesy  of  the  genial  southern  nature,  and 
was  profuse  in  her  apologies. 

The  parish  at  this  time  was  in  a  most  unsettled  condition. 
The  former  rector,  who  was  still  occupying  the  rectory,  had  been 
practically  forced  to  resign  his  charge  owing  to  his  eccentricities 
and  his  inability  to  "get  on"  with  the  people.  The  parishioners 
had  built  and  nearly  paid  for  a  new  stone  church,  but  the  rector 
on  account  of  some  whim  refused  to  hold  services  in  it.  Dr. 
Satterlee  called  upon  him  and  listened  to  a  fierce  diatribe  directed 
against  the  vestry  and  members  of  the  congregation  generally. 
He  also  met  and  interviewed  several  members  of  the  vestry, 
and,  as  he  afterward  told  his  son,  the  fact  that  they  had  studi- 
ously refrained  from  saying  anything  derogatory  to  the  rector, 
convinced  him  that  the  fault  did  not  lie  at  their  doors.  The 
rector,  it  might  be  stated,  had  been  a  Baptist  preacher  before 
taking  orders  in  the  Church;  subsequently,  in  turn,  he  relin- 
quished its  ministry  and  became  a  Methodist  circuit  rider. 

On  his  return  Dr.  Satterlee  found  his  son  in  a  state  of  great 
chagrin  over  the  fact  that  his  father  had  undertaken  the  jour- 
ney without  consulting  him.  It  was  characteristic  of  Satterlee's 
nature  to  resent  what  he  considered  any  undue  interference  with 
his  affairs  on  the  part  of  his  family.  He  always  desired  to 
settle  matters  for  himself,  to  feel  that  his  decisions  were  the 
result  of  his  own  initiative,  and  not  in  any  sense  due  to  others. 
It  was  not  that  he  resented  friendly  counsel,  but  that  he  had  a 
distaste  of  anything  that  looked  like  "coddling"  or  making 
things  easy  for  him.     Devoted  as  he  knew  his  father  to  be  to  his 


1895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       151 

interest,  and  much  as  he  appreciated  his  good  sense  and  the 
strength  of  his  counsel,  he  seldom  asked  his  advice  and  never 
looked  to  him  for  assistance  in  troubles  or  problems  connected 
with  the  work  of  his  ministry.  He  would  freely  go  to  others 
whom  he  deemed  willing  and  capable  of  giving  advice,  but  he 
seems  to  have  shrunk  from  carrying  his  burdens  to  those  nearest 
to  him  by  the  tie  of  blood.  He  felt,  possibly,  that  their  love  for 
him  would  be  apt  to  bias  their  judgment,  that  their  desire  to 
relieve  him  would  in  some  way  imperil  his  virility,  or 
tend  to  swerve  him  from  following  the  path  which  he  had 
mapped  out  for  himself. 

Dr.  Satterlee,  after  detailing  the  conditions  which  he  had 
found  in  Morganton,  advised  his  son  to  accept  the  rectorship. 
Satterlee  accordingly  wrote  to  the  vestry  accepting  the  call, 
and  soon  afterwards  took  his  departure  for  his  new  field,  enter- 
ing upon  his  work  there  early  in  September,  1894.1 

After  Mrs.  Churchill  Satterlee's  death  the  vestry  of 
Calvary  proposed  that  Churchill  should  come  as  assistant 
to  his  father. 

The  members  of  his  family  were  anxious  that  he  should  settle 
himself  in  some  place  in  closer  proximity  to  themselves.  His 
father,  then  redor  of  Calvary  Church,  New  York,  refrained 
from  offering  any  advice  upon  the  matter.  But  members  of  his 
vestry  came  to  him  and  strongly  urged  that  he  should  retain 
his  son  in  the  capacity  of  an  assistant.  The  position  happened 
to  be  vacant  just  at  that  time,  and  the  vestry  stated  their  belief 
that  "  Churchill "  would  fill  it  acceptably.  Dr.  Satterlee  broached 
the  matter  to  his  son,  stating  that  the  suggestion  had  emanated 
absolutely  from  the  vestry,  and  that,  while  the  idea  was  gratify- 
ing to  him,  he  should  never  himself  have  dreamed  of  such  a  thing 
as  mentioning  it.2 

It  was  on  Christmas  Eve,  1894,  that  Dr.  Satterlee 
penned  the  preface  of  his  book  A  Creedless  Gospel  and 
the  Gospel  Creed  which  was  dedicated  to  his  wife.  He 
was  stirred  to  write  it  by  the  World's  First  Parliament 
of  Religions,  held  in  Chicago  in  1893,  which  was  hailed 
by    thousands    ''as    an    epoch    in    the    Christian    world' 

1  A  Fisher  of  Men,  pp.  33-37.  2  Ibid.,  pp.  48,  49. 


i52  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

and  received  almost  universal  approval.  "For  months 
we  waited  for  some  qualification  of  this  extremely  one- 
sided expression  of  opinion,  and  some  fair  and  temperate 
statement  of  the  other  side,  but  it  never  came.  With 
the  exception  of  the  refusal  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury of  the  invitation  to  participate,  scarcely  another 
voice  was  raised  to  show  that  there  was  another  side."1 
The  book  was  written  to  discharge  his  responsibility  as 
a  witness  to  the  true  knowledge  of  God  as  revealed  in 
Christ.  "The  author  set  out  with  the  intention  of 
writing  a  short  article  on  the  Apostles'  Creed,  but  the 
work  grew  insensibly  on  his  hands  as  days  and  months 
passed  by,  until  it  attained  the  proportions  of  this 
volume"2  of  upwards  of  500  pages.  The  first  part  is 
devoted  to  "A  Creedless  Gospel  —  Man  seeking  God"; 
the  second  to  "The  Gospel  Creed  —  God  seeking  Man"; 
and  the  third  part  to  "Witnesses  for  Christ  in  Nine- 
teenth Century  Times."  Though  there  were  those, 
even  among  Churchmen,  who  felt  that  it  created  too 
strong  an  antithesis  between  evolution  and  revelation, 
the  book  was  favorably  and  widely  received.  It  was 
not  written  for  unbelievers.  "Its  sole  object  is  to  help 
in  confirming  the  faith  of  the  faithful;  to  point  out  and 
bring  back  to  the  memory  of  Nineteenth  Century  Chris- 
tians the  standard  of  belief  and  of  life  which  was  set 
before  New  Testament  Christians  by  Christ  Himself 
and  the  Apostles  whom  he  trained."  3  It  is  interesting 
to  find  him  chafing  against  the  dictation  of  so-called 
civilization.  The  words  with  which  the  first  part  of  the 
book  closes   are  prophetic: 

THE  FUTURE  CONFLICT  OF  THE  CHURCH 

The  lesson  to  be  learned  from  all  these  fads  is  one  to  be 
pondered  earnestly,  deeply,  prayerfully,  by  every  devout  Chris- 
tian mind.  The  outlook,  of  course,  is  bright.  Christ  is  conquer- 
ing the  world,  but  not  in  the  way  that  men  think.    The  glow  on 

1  A  Creedless  Gospel  and  the  Gospel  Creed,  p.  4  (Scribners,  1895). 

2  Preface,  p.  viii.  3  Ibid. 


1 895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       153 

the  horizon  of  the  future  is  not  that  kind  of  brightness  which  the 
Gospel  of  the  Age  so  enthusiastically  depicfls;  on  the  contrary,  it 
needs  no  prophet's  eye  to  foresee  that  the  Church  of  Christ  has 
a  conflict  before  her  as  great  as,  if  not  greater  than,  any  in  her 
past  history.  For  this  same  Gospel  of  the  Age  is  destined  to  be 
the  hardest  and  most  relentless  of  all  taskmasters  in  its  dictates 
as  to  how  much  we  must  believe,  and  how  much  we  must  ignore, 
of  the  teachings  of  Christ,  not  only  on  their  sociological  but 
also  on  their  theological  side.  And  the  "  Progress  of  Civiliza- 
tion "  is  becoming  a  cry  as  imperious  and  as  tyrannical  as  any 
which  the  world  has  yet  heard. 

The  progress  of  civilization  has  shown  how  much  real  in- 
trinsic good  there  is  in  the  religions  of  Baal  and  Osiris,  of  Buddha 
and  Mahomet;  the  progress  of  civilization  demands  that  Chris- 
tianity shall  give  place  to  these  various  religions,  so  far  as  they 
deserve  recognition.  The  progress  of  civilization  demands  the 
abolition  of  all  creeds  that  fetter  the  freedom  of  human  thought, 
and  proclaims  that  the  ultimate  tests  of  Christianity,  as  of  all 
other  religions,  will  be  the  analysis  of  human  experience  through 
the  methods  of  modern  thought.  The  progress  of  civilization 
demands  the  unification  of  the  human  race.  The  progress  of 
civilization  demands  that  no  man  shall  be  called  a  pagan  or 
heathen,  whatever  his  religious  beliefs,  who  will  help  to  civilize 
the  world. 

The  progress  of  civilization  demands  that  nothing  shall  inter- 
fere with  the  growing  bonds  of  union  formed  between  nations 
for  the  purpose  of  enlarging  their  mutual  commercial  and  busi- 
ness interests. 

The  progress  of  civilization  demands  that  everything  which 
conduces  to  the  building  up  of  the  commonwealth  and  increas- 
ing its  resources  is  to  be  welcomed,  while  everything  which 
cannot  be  thus  utilized  is  to  be  discarded. 

Christ's  disciples  have  not,  as  yet,  felt  called  upon  to  draw 
together  and  present  a  united  front  in  the  way  of  this  so-called 
progress  of  civilization,  or  to  oppose  as  wrong  what  civilization 
encourages  as  right;  but  if  that  day  ever  does  come,  it  will 
witness  as  autocratic  and  relentless,  though  of  course  not  as 
cruel  and  bloody,  a  proscription  of  Christ's  followers  as  that 
decreed  by  the  imperious  Roman  Empire  itself  in  the  days  of 
yore.1 

1  "A  CreedUss  Gospel  and  the  Gospel  Creed,"  pp.  191,  192. 


i54  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1892 

The  last  two  years  of  Dr.  Satterlee's  rectorship  at 
Calvary  found  the  parish  at  the  height  of  its  career. 
"Not  only  does  our  Church  stand  in  the  very  front 
rank  of  the  parishes  of  America  in  its  contributions  to 
the  general  missionary  activities  of  the  Church,  but  the 
work  that  the  parish  is  doing,  with  its  staff  of  seven 
clergy  and  as  many  lay  readers,  and  scores  of  men  and 
women  lay  helpers,  has  been  fully  and  adequately  sup- 
ported even  in  these  hard  times  by  the  devotion  of  the 
parishioners. " 1 

In  1890  the  regular  contributions  of  the  parish  were 
$73,709.17.  "In  the  reports  of  the  Board  of  Domestic 
and  Foreign  Missions  Calvary  Parish  stands  sometimes 
third  and  sometimes  fourth  in  the  list  of  the  parishes 
in  the  United  States  in  contributions.  In  the  meantime, 
the  number  of  communicants  has  grown  to  about  2,000; 
the  number  of  the  services  last  year  was  about  1,400."  2 

The  Endowment  Fund  as  a  means  of  emancipating 
Calvary  from  the  pewed  system  was  the  uppermost 
thought  in  Dr.  Satterlee's  mind.  He  was  strongly  backed 
up  by  his  wardens  and  vestrymen  whose  names  are 
inwrought  with  his  own  in  the  history  of  Calvary  Church  — 
James  G.  Goodwin,  Samuel  D.  Babcock,  Daniel  Hunting- 
ton, Jacob  Wendell,  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  Oliver  G.  Barton, 
F.  W.  Rhinelander,  Spencer  Aldrich,  John  Le  Boutillier 
and   George  Zabriskie. 

Writing  his  final  letter  as  pastor  of  a  beloved  flock 
(Feb.  28,  1896),  after  a  survey  of  the  past,  he  says: 

Turning  now  from  the  past  to  the  future,  there  are  certain 
features  in  the  life  of  the  parish  which  ought  never  to  be  for- 
gotten; they  are  as  follows: 

1.  Calvary  was  started  by  young  men  as  a  free  Church  in 
1836. 

2.  It  was  then  the  first  church  of  New  York  City  above  14th 
St.  not  of  course  counting  the  village  churches  of  Yorktown, 
Chelsea,  Manhattanville,  and  Harlem.  It  was  the  first  Church 
of  any  Christian  body  since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  occupy 

1  Rector  s  Letter,  1894.  2  Ibid.,  1895. 


1895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       155 

that  part  of  New  York  lying  east  of  4th  Ave.  between  14th  and 
34th  St.  Her  parish  limits  are  now  reduced  to  East  of  5th  Ave. 
between  19th  and  27th  St.  but  she  had  faithfully  occupied  the 
ground  with  the  Church,  the  Chapel,  the  Galilee.  She  is  one 
of  the  very  few  churches  of  New  York  which  stands  on  the 
original  site. 

3.  She  has  refused  to  move  uptown  as  other  churches  have 
done,  and  thus  follow  the  wealthier  classes. 

4.  She  has  not  raised  her  endowment  fund  by  uniting  with 
other  parishes.  Once  in  times  past  she  fell  a  prey  to  mercenary 
motives  (1 844-1 850),  and  the  memory  of  those  days  still  lingers 
in  the  remembrance  of  many  who  called  the  forty  great  con- 
tributors who  took  the  forty  best  pews  as  the  forty  thieves. 
Calvary  has  suffered  from  that  episode,  but  by  refusing  to  move 
uptown  she  has,  we  hope,  atoned  for  her  past  sin,  and  by  refus- 
ing to  unite  with  any  other  dying  parish,  and  accepting  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  latter  for  her  endowment  fund,  she 
has  not  taken  advantage  of  others'  failures. 

5.  We  are  now  trying  to  raise  an  Endowment  Fund  of  $500,- 
000  the  interest  of  which  (#25,000  at  5  per  cent)  will  be  an  equiv- 
alent for  present  pew  rents.  This  Endowment  Fund  will  enable 
the  Church  to  be  free  and  at  the  same  time  to  maintain  a  high 
order  of  services.  But  let  all  future  rectors  remember  the  con- 
ditions under  which  this  fund  was  subscribed.  It  was  for  the 
sake  of  the  neighborhood,  that  Calvary  Parish  might  become  a 
spiritual  blessing  and  protector  to  all  the  people  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, rich  and  poor.  Woe  be  to  the  future  rector  or  rectors 
who  are  supported  by  the  Endowment  Fund,  and  yet  are  too 
lazy  or  selfish  or  unspiritual  to  give  their  lives  to  the  people  and 
visit  the  sick  and  the  poor.  Woe  be  to  them!  Woe  be  to  them! 
for  they  are  betraying  not  only  Christ  and  Christ's  poor,  but 
us,  who  raised  their  very  Endowment  Fund,  for  the  sake,  not  of 
the  rectors  and  clergy,  but  that  the  Church  might  become  the 
spiritual  home  of  the  poor  of  the  neighborhood.  Woe  be  to  the 
parishioners  who  attend  Calvary  Church  in  the  future,  if  they 
dare  to  pervert  this  Endowment  Fund  into  a  plea  for  not  giving 
themselves.  Remember  this  Fund  is  sacred  money.  It  was 
given  by  those,  many  of  whom  are  wont  to  give  one  tenth  of 
their  income  to  God.  Some  of  whom  (as  I  know  personally) 
give  very  much  more  than  a  tenth.  We  who  contribute  are 
aware  that  all  the  mean  and   stingy  Episcopalians  of  a  city  like 


i56  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1892 

this  flock  to  a  free  Church.  Dr.  Langford,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Missionary  Society  next  door,  tells  me  that  free  churches  con- 
tribute little  or  nothing  to  missions  on  this  account,  and  if  any 
future  congregation  of  Calvary  dares  to  act  thus,  let  them 
remember  that  they  are  betraying  us,  who  are  dead  and  gone, 
and  misusing,  yea,  in  the  sight  of  God  perverting,  the  trust 
funds  that  have  been  contributed  for  other  purposes. 

In  the  same  letter  he  refers  to  the  place  of  impor- 
tance the  library  of  the  Rectory  has  held  in  the  larger 
movements  of  the  Church,  to  which  Calvary  had  made 
contribution. 

The  library  of  the  Rectory  has  had  a  very  eventful  history 
since  it  was  built  by  Dr.  Hawks.  It  was  here  that  Dean  Stanley 
was  received  by  Dr.  Washburn.  It  was  here  that  "The  Club'3 
of  New  York  clergymen  was  started,  and  the  Church  Congress 
was  begun  under  the  same  auspices  (I  don't  know  whether  the 
first  meeting  of  the  latter  was  here).  In  this  same  library,  in 
after  days,  the  Parochial  Mission  Society  of  the  U.  S.  originated 
out  of  a  committee  that  had  met  here  monthly,  in  preparing  for 
the  New  York  Advent  Mission  in  1885.  It  was  here,  in  this 
room  that  the  Advisory  (afterwards  Provisional),  Committee 
for  Church  Work  in  Mexico  first  met  and  formed.  It  was  here 
also  that  the  Catholic  Unity  League  was  organized  in  April, 
1895,  after  the  12  founders  had  been  meeting  and  conferring  to- 
gether for  two  years.  It  was  here  too,  that  the  whole  House  of 
Bishops  came  for  luncheon  on  the  day  that  they  appointed  a 
Committee  to  issue  the  famous  pastoral  of  1885.  In  this  same 
library  the  ladies  of  the  Relief  Department  have  met  on  Mon- 
days for  ten  years.  It  is  here  that  the  clergy  of  the  parish  have 
held  almost  daily,  and  always  one  stated  weekly,  meeting  with 
their  rector  for  fourteen  years. 

On  December  6  Dr.  Satterlee  was  elected  Bishop  of 
Washington.  He  was  notified  of  his  election  by  a  Com- 
mittee composed  of  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Elliott,  S.T.D., 
the  Rev.  Alex.  Mackay-Smith,  D.D.,  and  General  J.  G. 
Parke. 

Writing  to  the  Bishop  of  Delaware  (Dr.  Coleman)  a 
few  days  later,  he  opens  his  heart  to  him: 


i895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       157 

Dec.  10. —  Your  affectionate  words  help  me  in  this,  the  great- 
est crisis  of  my  life.  I  fully  appreciate  all  this  call  means  —  all 
its  history  means,  and  I  am  trying  prayerfully,  honestly,  humbly 
to  learn  God's  Will.  My  relations  to  work  here  in  this  parish 
and  in  New  York  are  not  to  be  severed  easily.  I  must  know 
both  sides,  then  if  God  says  "Go,"  I  must  go. 

I  appreciate  the  high  honor.  I  feel  crushed  by  the  great 
responsibility.     I  need  your  prayers. 

He  told  the  Committee  of  Notification  of  this  election 
that  he  must  have  time  to  consider.  By  the  beginning 
of  the  New  Year  at  latest  he  would  be  ready  with  an 
answer.  Not  only  his  own  parishioners,  but  also  New 
York  citizens  at  large,  used  arguments  to  influence  him 
to  decline.  Two  days  after  Christmas  he  notified  Wash- 
ington of  his  acceptance  in  the  following  letter: 

CALVARY   CHURCH   RECTORY, 
133    EAST   2IST   ST.,   N.Y. 

DECEMBER  2Ji  1895. 

Gentlemen:  It  is  hard  for  me  to  express  in  words  my  deep 
appreciation  of  the  honor  that  has  been  conferred  upon  me  by 
the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  diocese  of  Washington  in  electing 
me   as   its   first    Bishop. 

The  consciousness  of  the  grave  responsibilities  to  God  and 
man  which  belong  to  this  high  position  in  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  the  realization  of  the  opportunities  of  the  new  Diocese 
have  become  deeper  and  stronger  in  my  mind  after  three  weeks 
of  careful  and  prayerful  consideration. 

I  have  had  heretofore  an  unshaken  conviction  that  no  human 
influence  or  earthly  inducement,  nothing  less  than  the  plainest 
indication  of  God's  will,  should  sever  the  religious  ties  that  bind 
me  to  the  work,  the  people,  the  ideals  of  Calvary  Parish;  I 
now  feel  that  that  call  of  God  has  come  and  that  it  is  imperative. 

Though  I  realize  now  more  vividly  and  painfully  than 
ever  before  my  own  utter  insufficiency  for  the  office  and  work 
of  a  bishop  in  the  Church  of  God,  yet  day  by  day  the  conviction 
has  grown  steadily  stronger  that  this  summons  has  come  to  me 
from  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  our  ascended  Lord  and 
King,   and   therefore,  in  obedience  to  His  voice,  and  in   human 


158  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

submission  to  what  I  believe  to  be  His  will,  I  accept  the  position 
of  Bishop-elect  of  Washington. 

With  the  unceasing  prayer  that  the  blessing  of  Christ  may 
rest  upon  the  new  Diocese,  and  that  in  all  our  works,  begun, 
continued  and  ended  in  Him,  Bishop,  clergy  and  people  may 
perceive  and  know  what  things  we  ought  to  do,  and  then  have 
grace  and  power  faithfully  to  fulfill  the  same,  I  am,  gentlemen, 
with  deep  respect, 

Your  servant  in  Christ, 

HENRY  Y.    SATTERLEE. 

At  the  same  time  he  wrote  this  brief  note  to  his 
brother: 

N.   Y.    DEC.  27,  1895. 

Dear  Arthur:  I  have  this  day  notified  the  Committee  that 
I  accept  the  Bishoprick  of  Washington.  Don't  congratulate  me. 
Pray  for  me. 

Affectionately  yours, 

H.   Y.    SATTERLEE. 

Twice  before  he  had  faced  the  call  to  the  episcopate, 
so  that  he  was  prepared  to  meet  this  new  call  with  a 
fulness  of  knowledge  as  to  the  momentous  decision 
involved,  and  with  a  calmness  of  judgment  that  he  could 
not  otherwise  have  had.  Most  men  need  the  educational 
value  of  declining  promotion  before  they  can  understand 
the  value  as  well  as  the  unimportance  of  advancement 
or  conspicuous  position.  Except  among  the  spiritually 
tried,  the  glamour  and  prestige  of  high  office  is  apt  to 
blur  sound  judgment. 

He  came  to  his  decision  with  that  simplicity  and 
directness  which  were  characteristic  of  him  in  dealing 
with  big  things.  As  he  wrote  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Spencer 
Aldrich,  three  weeks  after  the  election  (December  27),  he 
found  no  room  to  doubt  God's  purpose  for  him  in  the 
matter: 

I  have  reached  the  end  of  my  period  of  probation.  The  sum- 
mons has  come  and  I  must  obey.  I  doubt  if  any  bishop  of  the 
whole  American  Church  has  ever  received  so  direct  and  so  im- 


i895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       159 

perative  a  call  from  God  as  has  come  to  me,  and  if  I  were  now 
to  hesitate  or  refuse  to  obey,  God's  will  would  no  longer  be  a 
reality  —  such  a  reality  as  it  is  to-day  —  for  the  rest  of  my  life. 
I  dare  not  refuse,  and  therefore  I  have  notified  the  Committee 
of  my  acceptance  of  the  bishopric.  I  have  very  many  things  to 
say  to  the  vestry  —  but  there  will  be  time  enough  for  all  this. 

The  very  first  person  I  told  was  your  dear  mother  —  and  I 
shall  never  forget  the  interview  I  had  with  her  —  she  is  a  saint 
of  God.  .  .  .  My  heart  fails  me  when  I  think  of  coming  days. 

Three  months  elapsed  before  his  consecration  on  the 
Feast  of  the  Annunciation  (March  25,  1896),  months 
filled  to  the  brim  with  activities  of  heart  and  mind  and 
body  that  formed  the  last  rush  of  the  steady  flow  of 
love  wherewith  he  had  served  his  flock.  Indeed  it  was 
not  until  Easter  Day  (April  5)  that  he  considered  that 
he  cut  the  last  strand  of  the  cord  that  bound  him  to 
Calvary,  for  in  his  official  diary  he  records  under  that 
date:  "Preached  my  farewell  sermon  in  Calvary  Church, 
New  York,  in  behalf  of  the  Endowment  Fund  for  the 
free  Church,  and  took  up  offertory  for  the  same."  The 
offering  amounted  to  #63,000  of  which  #20,000  was  con- 
tributed by  one  person. 

His  remarkable  letter  to  the  Vestry  of  Calvary  written 
at  Christmastide,  announcing  the  coming  separation,  is 
an  interesting  document,  with  no  uncertain  note  in  its 
counsels.  Had  he  written  it  in  his  later  life  or  under 
less  of  an  emotional  strain,  doubtless  some  of  its  harsh 
and  unjust  sentences  would  have  been  tamed  and  trimmed 
into  truer  proportions  (e.g.  paragraph  13),  and  the 
phrasing  of  paragraph  17  would  have  been  more  happily 
shaped.  But  the  letter  is  a  good  index  of  the  strength 
and  the  limitations  of  a  man  of  conviction.  For  that 
reason  it  is  recorded  in  full: 

TO   THE    VESTRYMEN   OF   CALVARY   CHURCH 

My  Dear  Friends:  After  three  weeks  of  prayer  and  ponder- 
ing, I  have  accepted  the  Bishoprick  of  Washington.  You  can 
imagine  what  it  costs  me  and  my  dear  wife  to  break  away  from 


i6o  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1892 

the  home  and  friends;  to  leave  Calvary,  which  is  the  Church  of 
our  youth  and  our  most  hallowed  memories,  and,  most  painful 
of  all,  to  part  from  vestry  and  people,  in  aiming  for  the  ideal  of 
Calvary  Free  Church,  in  which  I  hoped  we  might  work  shoulder 
to  shoulder  through  life.  It  has  been  a  wrench  like  that  of  death 
itself  to  sever  these  ties,  but  I  am  helpless.  God's  will  has 
become  to  me  as  plain  as  daylight.  I  have  intimated  plainly  to 
you  the  way  that  my  thoughts  and  convictions  were  drifting, 
first,  because  I  wanted  you  to  know  the  exacl:  condition  of  my 
mind;  and  second,  because  I  vainly  hoped  that  by  putting  the 
side  of  Washington  strongly,  I  might  bring  out  stronger  points 
on  the  side  of  Calvary;  but  through  all  the  conviction  that  I 
must  accept  the  bishoprick  has  become  stronger  and  stronger. 

I  doubt  if  any  bishop  in  the  whole  American  episcopate  has 
ever  received  a  plainer,  more  direct,  more  imperative  call  to  the 
office  and  work  of  a  bishop  in  the  Church  of  God  than  has  come 
to  me;  and  if  I  refuse  it,  the  will  of  God  will  never  be  so  plain 
and  so  real  to  me  for  the  rest  of  my  life.  For  these  reasons  I 
dare  not  refuse. 

Let  me  now  lay  some  fadls  and  suggestions  before  you  that 
should  be  pondered,  I  think,  by  each  one  of  us  before  the  next 
Vestry  meeting  is  called: 

1.  God  is  going  to  take  care  of  this  work  in  Calvary  Parish. 
If  I  have  had  any  distinct  message  sent  to  me  in  the  past  three 
weeks  from  God,  it  has  been  this:  "Do  God's  will;  leave  the 
results  to  Him.  He  cares  more  for  His  work  than  you  do,  and 
He  will  not  allow  it  to  fail."  This  certainly  accords  with  my 
whole  experience  of  life.  The  failures  of  life  come  from  lack  of 
faith  in  God.  Faith  in  God  and  loyalty  to  His  will  always  bring 
success.  The  success  may  not  come  in  our  way;  His  will  may 
not  always  be  our  will,  but,  in  that  case,  I  have  always  found 
that  His  way  is  the  best,  the  highest,  the  most  satisfactory  way. 

2.  The  roots  of  Calvary  Parish  are  deeper  down,  and  have  a 
firmer  hold,  than  those  of  almost,  if  not  all  of  the  other  parishes 
in  this  city.  Few  realize  to-day  the  real  spiritual  strength  of 
Calvary.  Perhaps  a  change  of  rectors  will  bring  out  this 
strength. 

3.  The  next  point  follows  closely.  For  the  first  time  in 
thirteen  years  the  people  of  Calvary  —  men  and  women  —  under- 
stand and  share  the  ideal  and  aim  that  has  been  before  us  for 
so  many  years  —  of  making  Calvary  a  Free  Church,  and  ulti- 


1895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       161 

mately  rebuilding  the  present  edifice.  This  has  largely  been 
brought  about  by  the  publication  of  the  last  Year  Book,  and  the 
impression  has  been  greatly  deepened  in  the  past  three  weeks. 

4.  Especially  is  this  the  case  among  our  young  men.  I  shall 
form  a  list  of  thirty  or  forty  young  men  under  forty  years  of 
age,  who  are  ready  now  to  take  up  and  share  the  burden  of 
work.  No  other  parish  in  this  city  that  I  know  of  has  such  a 
nucleus  of  men,  and  they  are  all  men  of  the  right  stamp. 

Besides  this,  many  of  them  have  been  trained  in  the  Mis- 
sionary Board.  They  know  the  aims,  purposes  and  details  of 
the  Chapel  work  and  the  East  Side  work  as  well  as  I  do  myself. 

5.  We  have  a  very  efficient  staff"  of  clergy.  I  have  met  with 
them  for  one  or  two  hours  regularly  every  Monday  morning 
"for  a  council  of  war,"  and  have  unfolded  all  my  plans  to  them. 
Mr.  Emery  has  very  unusual  executive  ability,  and  I  have  leaned 
on  his  judgment,  his  wisdom,  his  accurate  thought,  more  than 
anyone  knows.  Mr.  Hughson  has  had  large  business  experience 
and  great  capacity  for  work,  besides  a  magnetism  that  all  men 
feel.  He  is  essentially  "a  man's  man."  Mr.  Cooke  and  Mr. 
Grover  know  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  East  Side  work  better  than 
I  do  myself.  Mr.  Henkell  has  made  himself  almost  a  necessity 
at  the  Chapel.  Mr.  Howden  is  a  responsible,  conscientious  man 
who  has  adapted  himself  to  our  conditions  with  great  aptitude, 
and  is  the  best  reader  we  have  had  for  years  in  our  parish 
church.  These  men  are  from  deep  conviction  of  the  same  kind 
of  churchmanship  that  I  am.  You  can  depend  upon  them  to  act: 
as  a  unit. 

6.  The  organization  of  the  parish  is  in  a  very  satisfactory 
state.  For  reasons,  the  women's  work  is  not  so  well  organised 
as  that  of  the  men.  It  was  my  hope  to  introduce  deaconesses 
as  soon  as  I  saw  my  way  clear,  and  it  is  because  I  felt  we  were 
in  a  state  of  preparation  for  better  things  that  I  did  not  com- 
plete this  organization  this  winter.  Again,  Mr.  Chandler  under- 
stands thoroughly  the  whole  East  Side  work,  and,  as  you  know, 
he  is,  in  every  way,  to  be  depended  upon. 

7.  The  parish  is  at  present  in  excellent  financial  condition, 
free  from  debt.  With  the  present  income  from  the  East  Side 
work,  the  whole  debt  upon  the  23rd  Street  buildings  will  be 
paid  in  eight  years.  Two  years  more  will  pay  for  the  tenement 
house,  No.  335  East  22nd  Street,  and  after  that  there  will  be 
an  income  of  from  $6000  to  $8000  a  year  for  parish  purposes. 


1 62  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

8.  The  Endowment  Fund.  I  regard  it  of  great  importance, 
that  the  first  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  the  Endowment  Fund 
should  be  raised  on  next  Easter  Day.  This  would  mean  that 
the  people  of  Calvary  have  confidence  in  the  future  of  Calvary, 
and  I  propose  to  strain  every  effort  to  secure  the  whole  of  that 
amount,  if  possible,  before  I  leave  the  parish,  and  in  this  effort 
I  ask  the  co-operation  of  the  Vestry. 

9.  I  propose,  also,  to  gather  the  young  men  together,  and 
have  several  conferences  with  them  regarding  the  ways  and 
means  of  keeping  up  the  work  to  its  present  level. 

10.  The  next  question  that  arises  is  the  choice  of  a  new 
rector,  and  I  think  that,  for  the  welfare  of  the  parish,  my  suc- 
cessor ought  to  be  elected  as  soon  as  possible.  A  period  of 
uncertainty  and  anxiety  sometimes  is  educational  in  parochial 
life,  but  in  the  present  condition  of  Calvary,  what  the  parish- 
ioners need  is  rest,  security,  confidence.  In  the  choice  of  a 
rector,  I  regard  the  question  of  churchmanship  of  the  highest 
importance,  and  I  hope  that  the  Vestry  understand  that  I  mean 
this  in  no  technical,  subordinate  sense.  Let  me  explain  exactly 
what  I  mean.  The  Crucifixion,  Resurrection,  Ascension  of  Christ, 
and  the  Coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  all  inseparably  linked  to- 
gether. The  Crucifixion  alone  means  the  failure  of  the  noblest 
life.  The  Resurrection  means  that  the  noblest  life  of  this  world 
ends  not  in  failure,  but  in  triumph;  not  in  weakness,  but  in 
power.  But  to  the  Risen  Christ  all  power  was  given  in  Heaven 
and  on  earth.  He  could  not  remain  on  this  earth.  He  had  to 
ascend  to  Heaven,  and  sit  on  the  throne  of  Heaven,  to  do  the 
work  before  Him.  Ever  since  that  day,  He  has  been  our  Reign- 
ing King,  our  Speaking  Prophet,  our  Officiating  Priest,  and  the 
Church  on  earth  is  Christ's  body,  the  organization  through 
which  He  works.  He,  as  Prophet,  Priest  and  King  in  Heaven, 
through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  directs  and  moves  the 
Church  on  earth,  which  is  His  body. 

11.  Now,  I  believe  that  the  Anglican  Church  comes  nearest 
to  this  ideal  of  any  Church  in  Christendom.  I  believe  not  only 
that  one  hundred  years  from  this  time  the  Anglican  Church 
will  be  larger  and  more  important  than  the  Church  of  Rome, 
but  that  the  more  one  understands  the  "genius"  of  the  Anglican 
Church,  the  better  he  will  understand  the  New  Testament  itself. 
This  ideal  is  so  high  that  it  satisfies  all  high  churchmen  and  all 
low  churchmen,  and  as  the  congregation  of  Calvary  are  made  up 


1895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       163 

chiefly  of  these  two  classes  —  i.e.,  of  men  and  women  of  deep 
spiritual  convictions  —  this  ought  to  be  the  first  consideration 
in  the  choice  of  a  rector. 

12.  Again,  the  clergy  could  not  possibly  work  under  a  man 
of  any  other  style  of  churchmanship,  for  they  would  feel  that 
they  knew  more,  have  a  higher  ideal  than  and  were  in  advance 
of  their  rector.  Under  such  circumstances  he  could  not  be  their 
leader. 

13.  I  would  most  earnestly  invoke,  nay,  charge,  the  Vestry 
to  bear  this  point  in  mind.  It  would  never  do  to  choose  a  broad 
churchman  for  this  parish,  because  broad  churchmen  are  desti- 
tute of  real  spiritual  convictions.  They  play  fast  and  loose 
with  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  this 
fad:  would  drive  out  all  the  spiritually-minded  men  and  women 
in  our  congregation. 

14.  At  first  I  thought  that  the  greatest  need  of  Calvary  at 
this  time  was  a  recftor  with  great  preaching  ability;  but  I  have 
gradually  come  to  see  things  differently.  A  popular  preacher,  in 
my  experience,  is  seldom  a  deep  man.  There  is  a  style  of 
preaching  that  attracts  by  its  spiritual  fervor,  its  deep  earnest- 
ness, its  knowledge  of  the  Christian  life  (e.g.,  Canon  Gore, 
Canon  Liddon,  etc.)  But  this  is  a  very  different  style  from  that 
which  is  known  as  popular  preaching.  What  Calvary  wants  is 
spiritual  and  intellectual  preaching  combined,  and  this  is  seldom 
or  never  popular. 

15.  In  the  choice  of  a  rector,  I  have  often  observed  that  ves- 
tries go  beyond  the  circle  of  those  clergymen  that  they  know 
with  all  their  virtues  and  faults,  to  select  from  a  distant  neigh- 
borhood a  clergyman  they  do  not  know,  and  whose  virtues  and 
faults  become  evident  after  he  assumes  the  charge  of  the  parish. 
I  have  felt  that,  everything  being  equal,  the  wisest  course  for 
a  vestry  is  always  to  select  a  man  from  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, if  possible;  a  man  whose  good  points  and  bad  points, 
whose  experience  or  want  of  experience,  whose  characteristics 
and  limitations,  are  thoroughly  known.  This  reduces  the  un- 
known ground  between  the  vestry  and  the  future  rector  as  far 
as  possible,  and  although  under  such  circumstances  there  is  less 
enthusiasm  than  there  would  be  if  a  new  rector  is  called  from 
some  distant  field,  there  is  far  more  probability  that  he  will  be 
a  success,  for  the  period  of  enthusiasm  is  always  sure  to  be 
followed  by  a  reaction. 


164  A  MASTER  BUILDER  C1892 

16.  The  man  who  is  chosen  ought  to  be  one  of  cautious  and 
mature  judgment;  one  who  would  not  easily  overset  the  work 
that  we  have  been  doing,  or  striving  against  it  upon  fresh  lines; 
but  who  would  comprehend  that  this  organization  is  not  merely 
the  work  of  a  predecessor,  but  had  been  the  result  of  growth, 
nurtured  by  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  reftor  and  people. 

17.  I  feel  that  it  is  important  that  the  rector  and  his  wife 
should  be  persons  of  social  position,  who  can  hold  their  own  in 
any  social  sphere  with  that  ease  and  self-respecl:  which  always 
accompany  good  breeding. 

18.  I  should  hope  —  although  this  is  not  a  matter  of  such 
supreme  importance  —  that  the  recflor  would  be  one  who,  by 
natural  temperament  and  inclination  is  always  seeking  points 
of  contact,  rather  than  points  of  difference  between  him  and 
others.  Such  a  man  would  scarcely  be  magnetic.  I  have  little 
faith  in  what  is  called  "magnetism."  It  is  seldom  more  than 
skin-deep;  a  veneer  that  covers  up  a  real  selfish  heart;  that 
impresses  at  the  beginning,  but  loses  its  power.  What  we  want 
is  a  man  of  reserve  force;  one  who  perhaps  at  the  commence- 
ment might  seem  to  be  shy  or  timid;  one  who  is  slow  in  making 
up  his  mind,  but  like  a  rock  after  his  convictions  are  formed. 

I  am  unable,  from  pressure  of  work,  to  add  more  at  present, 
but  I  trust  you  will  ponder  these  points  which  I  have  enu- 
merated. 

Such  a  "person"  or  parson  as  Dr.  Satterlee  depicfls  is  a 
rara  avis.  Under  the  great  emotional  strain  that  was 
agitating  him,  he  steered  a  perilous  course  in  giving 
too  definite  " suggestions"  to  his  people.  In  the  Church 
there  is  one  thing  a  man  can  never  do  with  impunity  — 
nominate  his  successor,  or  so  dictate  to  his  flock  as  to 
hamper  their  legitimate  freedom  in  making  a  choice. 
Extreme  solicitude  is  bound  to  run  into  objectionable 
paternalism.  But  when  the  sternest  criticism  possible 
has  been  made,  the  facl:  abides  that  in  the  case  of  Dr. 
Satterlee  the  mistake  was  the  mistake  of  a  great  heart, 
of  the  weakness  of  strength,  of  the  devotion  of  a  conse- 
crated   life. 

Though  Dr.  Satterlee  had  many  and  large  plans  for 
the    future   of  Calvary   which    he    had    expected    to   put 


1895]      FITTING  THE  CAPSTONE  AT  CALVARY       165 

through  himself,  the  call  to  the  Episcopate  came,  as 
after  events  demonstrated,  at  a  psychological  moment. 
He  had  fitted  the  capstone  to  the  East  Side  work  and 
had  inspired  the  whole  parish  with  the  same  unity  of 
spirit  and  diversity  of  operations  which  had  characterized 
his  labors  in  his  country  parish.  A  transition  moment 
in  Church  history  had  come,  a  new  generation  of  parish- 
ioners were  gathering,  and  it  was  only  right  that  a 
head  and  hand  should  meet  the  new  situation.  Having 
first  served  a  successful  apprenticeship  in  a  rural,  man- 
ufacturing centre,  he  had  now  made  himself  a  part  of 
the  throbbing  life  of  one  of  the  most  complex  and  surging 
cities  the  world  has  ever  seen.  He  had  not  been  swal- 
lowed up  by  the  pressure  of  the  immediate.  Through 
the  problems  of  New  York  he  had  established  a  con- 
nection with  national  and  world  problems.  He  had 
become  a  master  builder  in  the  City  of  God.  The  per- 
sonal and  spiritual  ties  that  the  years  of  close  association 
with  his  loyal  friends  at  Calvary  had  formed  were 
going  to  be  neither  loosened  nor  broken  by  his  removal. 
As  he  never  ceased  until  his  death  to  carry  in  his  heart 
Zion,  so  he  never  ceased  to  carry  Calvary.  A  true 
man's  affections  grow  with  use  until  they  embrace  the 
world,  and  even  then  there  is  room  for  more.  The  love 
that  was  given  him  was  worthy  of  the  love  that  he  gave. 
The  Churchman  speaking  of  his  departure  said: 

We  have  seldom  seen  such  expressions  of  passionate  regret 
over  the  removal  of  a  pastor  —  excepting  in  the  case  of  death; 
as  that,  for  instance,  of  Bishop  Brooks  —  when  newspapers  and 
editorial  desks  were  flooded  with  such. 

One  of  his  congregation  wrote  the  following  verses 
which,  to  his  imaginative  nature,  were  a  precious  gift: 

The  call  has  sounded  and  the  call  constraineth 
The  called  to  follow  where  it  points  the  way; 

The  Voice  Divine  hath  spoken  —  there  remaineth 
No  course  save  one  —  to  rise  and  to  obey. 


1 66  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1892 

Yet  God  has  called;  we  would  not  make  our  parting 
Dark  with  regret  and  sorrowful  with  tears; 

But  keep  this  consecrated  time  of  starting 
A  hallowed  memory  for  after  years. 

O  friend,  the  love  of  every  heart  possessing; 

O  priest,  who  nobly  all  the  way  has  trod; 
0  Bishop,  bend  upon  us  with  thy  blessing, 

Depart  rejoicing,  thou  beloved  of  God. 

No  one  who  has  ever  had  experience  of  Dr.  Satterlee's 
home  can  think  of  him  apart  from  his  family.  His 
wife  completely  shared  his  life.  The  parish  was  not 
mute  over  her  removal: 

Her  genial  presence,  her  kindly  manner,  her  rare  tact  and 
sunny  Christian  spirit,  will  be  missed  beyond  measure  by  one 
and  all,  to  whom  she  has  so  greatly  endeared  herself. 

But  now,  that  the  time  has  come  to  say  "good-bye,"  and 
to  be  severed,  she  can  be  assured  that  the  hearts  of  her  co-work- 
ers and  associates  will  go  with  her  to  her  new  home,  with  the 
prayer  that  God  will  bless  her  with  the  abundance  of  His  grace 
in  the  new  and  important  duties  she  will  be  called  upon  to  ful- 
fill as  the  wife  of  the  first  Bishop  of  Washington. 

It  is  repetition,  but  not  vain  repetition,  to  make  a 
further  quotation.  The  one  just  made  was  from  a  minute 
of  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of  Calvary;  the  fol- 
lowing is  from  a  minute  of  the  Woman's  Benevolent 
Society,  of  which  for  more  than  ten  years  she  had  been 
head: 

Her  conscientious  discharge  of  the  onerous  duties  which  de- 
volved upon  her  in  Calvary  Parish  has  set  a  bright  example  to 
all  Church  workers,  and  the  grateful  memory  of  her  good  deeds 
will  burn  brightly  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  remain  at  their 
accustomed  posts.  The  prayers  of  her  associates  will  follow  her 
into  her  new  field  of  usefulness. 


M  R  S.     H  E  N  R  V     Y  AT  E  S     SATTERLEE 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    MASTER    BUILDER 

Washington,    1 896 

0  Man  of  Vision!  though  the  rest  be  blind, 

You,  who  do  love  Mankind, 

You,  who  believe 

That  our  fair  Country  shall  indeed  retrieve 

The  promise  of  the  ages.     You  shall  find 

Your  heart's  reprieve. 

With  your  own  motto  "Spend  and  so  be  spent," 

Your  high  intent 

Makes  of  yourself  a  willing  instrument. 

With  heart  and  soul  afire 

You  do  aspire 

But  to  be  broken,  should  the  cause  require 

An  arrow  shattered  ere  the  bow  be  bent. 

CORINNE    ROOSEVELT   ROBINSON 

A  PERSON  unacquainted  with  the  history  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  Church  in  America,  both  generally 
and  with  special  reference  to  Maryland,  could 
not  fail  to  wonder  why  the  Diocese  of  Washington  was 
so  long  in  coming.  Upon  the  selection  by  the  nation 
of  Washington  as  the  Capital  City,  and  the  setting  apart 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  erection  of  a  Diocese 
in  the  chief  seat  of  government  at  the  earliest  moment 
would  appear  to  be  a  paramount  duty.  According  to 
our  theory  of  a  national  church  it  ought  to  conform  to 
the  lines  of  the  state,  and,  like  Elisha  laying  his  body  on 
the  child  of  the  Shunamite,  mouth  to  mouth,  eyes  to 
eyes,  hands  to  hands,  bestow  the  gift  of  spiritual  life 
by  applying  body  to  body,  member  to  member.  Had 
our  forefathers  possessed  our  present-day  knowledge, 
doubtless  the  See  of  Washington  would  have  been  born 
in  an  earlier  generation  than  history  records.     As  things 


168  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

were,  the  Church  moved  slowly  towards  this  end.  She 
had  a  long,  hard  struggle  to  secure  the  episcopate  for 
America,  and  when,  at  last,  her  efforts  were  rewarded 
she  was  slow  to  multiply  bishops.  In  early  days  a  small 
population  was  scattered  through  a  vast  territory,  and 
men  got  accustomed  to  exercising  jurisdiction  over  great 
spaces.  Poverty,  traditional  hatred  of  episcopacy  in 
certain  sections,  and  the  proverbial  conservatism  of 
Anglicanism  and  its  offshoots,  combined  to  make  the 
creation  of  new  dioceses  slow. 

Maryland  had  additional  reasons  for  hesitating  to 
break  her  ecclesiastical  unity.  From  the  first  she  had 
been  in  the  forefront  of  American  Church  life,  despite 
the  fact  that  Roman  Catholicism  was  always  prominent, 
if  not  always  dominant.  The  Diocese  held  its  Primary 
Convention  at  the  end  of  1780,  during  the  course  of 
which  the  term  "Protestant  Episcopal'  was  first  applied 
to  the  Church.  In  the  Convention  of  1783  the  Rev. 
W.  Smith  was  elected  Bishop  but  was  never  consecrated 
for  adequate  reason.  Six  years  later  the  Diocese  was 
fully  organized,  and  in  1792  the  Rev.  T.  J.  Claggett 
was  elected  Bishop.  His  was  the  first  consecration  on 
American  soil.  It  was  at  the  Convention  which  elected 
Bishop  Claggett  that  the  wisdom  of  dividing  Maryland 
into  two  dioceses  was  first  discussed.  Nothing  came  of 
it,  and  in  1814  when  Bishop  Claggett's  age  and  infirm- 
ities necessitated  some  action,  he  was  given  a  suffragan, 
an  experiment  not  repeated  again  in  the  history  of  the 
American  Church  until  the  Convention  of  1910  gave 
canonical   authority   for  it. 

It  was  Bishop  Whittingham  who  reopened  the  ques- 
tion of  division  after  the  lapse  of  three  quarters  of  a 
century.  In  the  Convention  of  1867  he  said  that  "since 
the  first  year  of  his  experience  in  office,  he  had  been 
thoroughly  satisfied  that  the  Diocese  of  Maryland  would 
never  thrive  as  it  might  and  ought  to  do,  until  divided 
into  three  or  more  Dioceses."  Size  and  natural  affinity 
should    determine    the    lines    of    division.     The    Eastern 


1896]  THE  MASTER  BUILDER  '  169 

shore,  Washington  and  the  Potomac  Counties;  and 
Baltimore  with  the  balance  of  the  mother  diocese,  would 
be  the  logical  units.  "Give  her,"  to  quote  Bishop 
Whittingham's  words,  "three  bishops  at  the  least  —  it 
were  better  four  —  and  see  if  ten  years  do  not  double 
her  in   strength,   in  energy,   in  vital   force   and  intrinsic 

vigor.    L 

Under  Bishop  Whittingham's  leadership  consent  was 
given  by  the  Convention  of  1867  to  erect  the  Diocese  of 
Easton,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  "to  consider 
(not  the  expediency  or  advisability,  for  this  was  conceded) 
'the  best  way  of  dividing  the  Western  shore  of  Maryland 
into  two  Dioceses,  and  to  report  at  the  next  Conven- 
tion/"2 The  deliberations  and  findings  of  the  Com- 
mittee were  brought  before  the  next  two  Conventions, 
but  Bishop  Whittingham's  failing  health,  which  necessitated 
the  election  of  an  Assistant  Bishop  postponed  further 
division   for   a   quarter   of  a  century. 

In  1893  the  question  was  reopened  by  Bishop  Paret 
in  his  Convention  Address:  — 

There  is  yet  one  more  subject  of  very  grave  importance.  I 
am  by  no  means  an  advocate  of  small  Dioceses.  When  the 
division  of  this  Diocese  was  suggested  to  me  soon  after  my  con- 
secration, I  was  not  willing  to  entertain  the  thought.  And  even 
now,  although  the  pressure  and  amount  of  work  have  almost 
doubled  since  it  was  laid  upon  me,  until  it  is  probably  next  to 
the  Diocese  of  New  York  in  that  respect,  I  do  not  shrink  from 
it,  as  it  now  is,  but  there  is  much  besides  my  own  strength  to 
consider.  The  wonderful  and  rapid  growth  of  our  two  great 
cities  will  make  division  absolutely  necessary  before  long.  Shall 
we  wait  until  the  absolute  necessity  comes  upon  us,  until  the 
work  really  suffers  because  too  great  for  one  man  to  bear?  Or 
shall  we  by  wise  forethought  go  before  the  absolute  necessity, 
and  provide  for  it  before  it  comes?  Besides,  I  do  not  think  of 
Maryland  alone.  I  must  and  do  remember  that  in  the  city  of 
Washington   God   has  given   us   national   opportunities   and   na- 

1  Quoted  in  Journal  of  the  Primary  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  Washington, 

P-  5- 

2  Ibid.,  p.  6. 


i;o  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

tional  responsibilities.  Powers  of  all  kinds  are  centering  there. 
The  Church  should  be  strongly  represented  there.  It  was  the 
rule  of  the  Church  in  the  best  and  earliest  days  that  every  strong 
city  should  have  its  Bishop,  and  if  there  is  a  city  in  our  land 
where,  more  than  in  others,  that  rule  should  be  followed,  it  is  the 
City  of  Washington.  Other  religious  bodies  have  already  taken 
bold  steps  to  take  possession.  We  should  not  allow  any  love  for 
the  dignity  of  our  own  strength,  nor  any  loving  sentiment  for 
the  Diocese  as  it  is,  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  Church's  real 
progress.  I  do  believe  that  the  time  has  come  when  it  is  our 
sacred  duty  to  take  thought  and  action  for  this  grand  forward 
step.  By  the  laws  of  the  Church,  the  consent  of  the  Bishop  is 
necessary  for  a  division.  Dearly  as  I  love  every  part  of  the 
Diocese,  and  every  parish  in  it,  and  painful  as  it  would  be  for 
me  to  give  any  of  them  up,  if  the  Convention  should  approve 
the  act,  I  would,  upon  proper  conditions,  give  consent.  But  I 
would  require  two  things:  such  fair  division  of  the  territory  and 
work  as  should  equalize  the  two  burdens,  and  such  honorable 
provision  for  the  support  of  the  two  Bishops  as  should  forbid 
their  becoming  by  serious  annual  taxation  a  burden  on  the  par- 
ishes and  on  the  people.  I  read  of  noble  deeds  and  noble  gifts, 
of  grand  endowments  for  universities  and  hospitals.  We  have 
them  here  in  this  city.  Surely  there  are  men  who  can  love 
Christ's  Church  as  well  as  men  love  merely  human  institutions. 
And  to  accomplish  a  result  so  important  to  the  Church  as  this, 
I  believe  that  there  are  hearts  and  hands  that  would  be  ready 
to  act. 

The  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee  which  re- 
ported favorably  as  to  division,  on  the  ground  of  the 
unwieldiness  of  the  Diocese  which  laid  an  undue  burden 
on  the  Bishop,  of  "the  wonderful  and  rapid  growth' 
of  Baltimore  and  Washington,  and  of  the  importance  of 
giving  to  the  City  of  Washington  a  Bishop  of  its  own. 
In  the  judgment  of  the  committee  "the  division  of 
the  Diocese  of  Maryland  was  not  only  advisable  but 
necessary;  and  to  delay  it  longer  was  to  imperil  the  best 
interests  and  progress  of  the  Church."  The  lines  of 
division  proposed  were  such  as  to  emphasize  important 
principles.     By  including  with  the   district:  of  Columbia 


1896]  THE  MASTER  BUILDER  171 

contiguous  counties  of  Maryland,  there  would  be  a  fair 
division  of  territory  and  work,  and  two  urban  centres, 
each  having  missionary  responsibilities  in  the  adjacent 
rural  communities,  would  be  the  see  cities  of  the  new 
dioceses  thus  formed.  The  Convention  of  1894  voted 
for  division  on  the  basis  of  the  committee's  report,  and 
steps  were  taken  to  make  "such  honorable  provision 
for  the  support  of  two  bishops,  as  should  forbid  their 
becoming  by  serious  annual  taxation,  a  burden  on  the  par- 
ishes and  on  the  people. "  The  Convention  of  1895 
ratified  its  action  of  the  preceding  year  and  voted  to 
form  out  of  the  existing  Diocese  of  Maryland  the  new 
diocese,  which  would  comprise  the  District  of  Columbia 
and  the  Counties  of  St.  Mary,  Charles,  Prince  George, 
and   Montgomery. 

The  Committee  on  the  Endowment  of  the  proposed 
Diocese  of  Washington  "anticipated  serious  obstacles 
in  the  path  of  success,  and  their  anticipations  were  fully 
realized. "  But  the  Church  people  of  the  new  diocese 
gave  hearty  support  to  the  movement.  The  Committee 
in  their  report  said  that  "the  sum  of  subscriptions  and 
contributions  which  they  were  able  to  report  therewith 
represented  the  spirit  of  love  and  loyalty  of  the  church- 
men and  churchwomen  of  the  Washington  parishes. 
Many  stinted  themselves  in  order  to  give.  Sempstresses 
and  laboring  men  subscribed  their  #5  per  annum.  And 
in  one  or  two  instances,  parishes  unselfishly  put  aside 
their  cherished  parochial  plans  in  order  to  respond  to 
the  call  of  the  Bishop  and  the  all  but  unanimous  voice 
of  the  Convention  to  raise  the  endowment  necessary  to 
create  the  new  Diocese."  To  the  faithful  labors  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Randolph  H.  McKim,  Rector  of  the  Church  of 
the  Epiphany,  Washington,  the  success  in  raising  the 
endowment  was  chiefly  due. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  foundations  of  the  Diocese  of 
Washington  were  laid  in  these  latter  days  in  the  spirit 
of  self-donation  and  generosity.  Bishop  Paret,  whose 
ability,    effective    exercise    of    authority,    and    systematic 


i72  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

diligence  marked  him  out  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
episcopate  of  his  time,  found  it  no  slight  task  to  play  his 
part.  But  he  played  it  as  those  who  knew  him  would 
have  prophesied.  It  was  never  a  matter  of  lessening  his 
labors  and  responsibilities.  With  reference  to  the  in- 
crease of  work  caused  by  the  growth  of  the  Diocese, 
he  said:  "This  does  not  tell  of  greater  labors,  but  only 
of  more  hurried  labors/'  which  such  a  temperament  as 
his,  accustomed  to  do  his  work  "very  thoughtfully  and 
very  thoroughly," *  chafed  under.  Till  the  last  years 
of  his  life,  even  when  the  pressure  of  responsibility  was 
heaviest,  he  tried  not  to  let  a  day  go  by  without  reading 
the  Classics.  Exacting  with  himself  he  was  exacting 
with  others,  though  underneath  his  precision  twinkled 
a  bright  stream  of  humor  and  bubbled  a  perennial  spring 
of  tenderness.  It  cost  the  Bishop  much,  as  anyone 
reading  his  utterances  can  see,  to  interrupt  the  even 
flow  of  Maryland  traditions  and  surrender  any  least 
part  of  the  clergy  and  people  whom  he  loved  and  was 
loved  by  so  well  to  new  ecclesiastical  organization.  But 
he  exhibited  his  statesmanship  and  wisdom  by  leading 
in  a  movement  which  reached  its  consummation  with 
as  little  friction  and  ill-will,  and  with  as  carefully  framed 
and  executed  preparations  as  any  similar  action  in  the 
history   of  the   Church. 

In  his  farewell  address  after  the  organization  of  the 
new  Diocese  he  opened  his  heart.  It  was  his  privilege  to 
select  the  Diocese  of  his  preference.     He  says: 

It  was  very  hard  for  me  to  make  the  decision.  No  one  can 
understand  the  anxieties  of  those  months  of  uncertainty.  There 
were  many  things  drawing  me  to  Washington;  the  grandness  of 
its  present  position  and  the  promises  of  its  future;  the  associa- 
tion of  nearly  twenty  years;  the  remembrances  of  my  own  pas- 
toral work,  and  the  Bishop's  love  for  its  clergy  and  people.  But 
I  could  not  resist  the  leadings  of  conscience.  Without  thought 
or  act  or  choice  of  my  own,  God's  Providence  and  Call  made 
me  Bishop  of  Maryland.     And  though  by  the  Church's  law  I 

1  The  way  he  described  the  work  of  his  two  more  immediate  predecessors. 


1896]  THE  MASTER   BUILDER  173 

was  at  full  liberty  to  choose  the  Bishopric  of  Washington,  my 
conscience  would  always  have  been  troubled  at  the  thought  that 
choice  and  will  of  my  own  had  taken  me  out  of  the  place  where 
His  Providence  had  placed  me. 

So  I  must  remain  the  Bishop  of  Maryland.  It  is  hard  to  say 
it  to-day;  to  give  up  the  clergy  whom,  not  as  in  authority,  but 
in  love  I  could  call  mine;  and  the  parishes  and  people,  that  with 
the  same  love  had  been  mine  so  long.  But  though  I  may  no 
longer  claim  them,  I  shall  always  love  them.1 

Bishop  Paret  in  this  last  great  choice  of  his  life  may 
have  contradicted  his  preference,  but  by  so  doing  he 
set  the  seal  to  a  life  of  singular  conscientiousness. 

The  General  Convention  of  1895,  meeting  in  Minne- 
apolis, gave  consent  on  Odober  8  to  the  erection  of  the 
new  Diocese,  and  the  primary  Convention  met  in  St. 
Andrew's  Church,  Washington,  on  December  4.  The 
name  adopted  was  the  Diocese  of  Washington.  It  con- 
tained "forty-four  parishes  and  five  congregations,  and 
about  fifty  presbyters  who  had  been  for  at  least  one  year 
canonically  resident"  and  so  were  qualified  to  vote  for 
a  Bishop.  After  the  necessary  formalities  and  business 
connected  with  organization,  the  Convention  proceeded 
to  the  election  of  its  first  Bishop.  When  balloting  began, 
the  most  prominent  names  were  those  of  Dr.  Morgan 
Dix  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  and  Dr.  Randolph 
H.  McKim  of  Epiphany  Church,  Washington.  Dr.  Sat- 
terlee's  name  first  appeared  on  the  sixth  ballot  with  two 
votes,  and  was  put  before  the  Convention  by  Dr.  Alex- 
ander Mackay-Smith  in  formal  nomination  after  the 
seventh  ballot.  At  this  juncture  considerable  discourage- 
ment was  felt  because  of  the  failure  to  make  a  choice. 
It  was  voted  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  (December 
6)  that  if,  after  five  more  ballots  were  taken  there  was 
still  no  election,  the  choice  of  a  Bishop  should  be  post- 
poned till  the  next  Convention.  It  was  not  until  the 
third  ballot  under  this  ruling  that  Dr.  Satterlee  took 
the  lead.     On   the  fourth  ballot  under  the  limit  of  five, 

1  Diocesan  'Journal,  1895,  p.  36. 


174  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

the  eleventh  taken,  Dr.  Satterlee  was  nominated  and 
appointed  by  the  clergy.  According  to  the  provisions 
of  the  existing  canons  (subsequently  changed)  the  clergy 
first  voted  and,  having  made  a  choice,  sent  the  name  of 
the  nominee  to  the  lay  delegates,  who  approved  or  dis- 
approved. Dr.  Satterlee's  election  was  confirmed  by 
the  laity  with  but  two  dissenting  votes. 

It  was  eminently  proper  that  Dr.  Satterlee's  ministra- 
tions in  Calvary  Church  should  be  crowned  by  his 
consecration  on  the  very  spot  where  he  had  so  often 
inspired  his  people  and  fed  them  with  sacramental  food. 
It  tied  the  future  to  the  past.  No  festival  could  have 
better  suited  his  temperament  than  that  of  the  Annun- 
ciation. The  venerable  Presiding  Bishop,  Dr.  Williams 
of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut,  was  to  have  presided,  but 
his  feeble  condition  prevented  him  from  being  present. 
Dr.  Coxe,  Bishop  of  Western  New  York,  took  his  place 
with  Dr.  Satterlee's  son,  Churchill,  as  his  Chaplain, 
and  was  assisted  by  Dr.  Potter,  Bishop  of  New  York 
and  Dr.  Paret,  Bishop  of  Maryland.  The  Presenters 
were  Dr.  Leonard,  Bishop  of  Ohio  and  Dr.  Dudley, 
Bishop  of  Kentucky;  the  attending  Presbyters  were  the 
Rev.  Randolph  H.  McKim,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Walter  A. 
Mitchell;  the  Rev.  J.  Livingston  Reese,  D.D.,  was  Regis- 
trar and  the  preacher  was  Dr.  Huntington,  Bishop  of 
Central  New  York.  The  preacher  took  for  his  text  St. 
Luke  i,  30  ff.  In  the  powerful  epigrammatic  English  of 
which  he  was  master,  he  dealt  with  "the  relation  of  the 
Christian  Faith  to  public  character,  of  a  spiritual  ministry 
to  the  common  conduct  and  interests  of  a  people. " 

"It  is  impressive/5  he  continued,  "to  see  how  by  His 
historic  providence  God  honors  a  nation.  The  Church 
is  greater  than  a  nation,  because  Catholicity  comprehends 
nationality,  as  His  Gospel  is  given  to  make  glad  every 
continent  and  island  alike. "  God's  operations  among 
men  possess  an  objective  order  and  government.  If  it 
be  urged  that  God's  Kingdom  is  within,  the  very  state- 
ment implies  a  body.     The  most  objective  kingdoms  are 


1896]  THE  MASTER   BUILDER  175 

apt  to  be  first  in  men's  hearts  as  ideals  before  they 
assume  outward  expression.  "Apostles  sit  on  thrones  — 
not  thrones  of  pomp  but  of  benefaction,  the  better  to 
serve  the  people.  .  .  .  Bishops  wield  a  flimsy  crozier  and 
bear  empty  credentials  save  as  they  are  shepherds  who 
give  their  lives  for  the  sheep.  The  Bishop  of  them  all 
washed  His  disciples'  feet." 

Nothing  in  an  Apostolate  like  this,  remember,  confuses  in  the 
least  the  two  domains,  the  polity  of  the  Church  and  the  policy 
of  civil  rights.  In  this  country  the  safe-guard  against  Erastian- 
ism  is  its  inherent  impossibility.  A  state  religion  in  the  United 
States,  native  or  imported,  could  only  be  created  after  a  sub- 
version of  the  whole  system  of  both  government  and  manners, 
and  that  only  after  an  extinction,  radical  and  complete,  of  the 
spirit  and  the  principles  which  gave  the  Republic  its  origin 
and  its  shape.  What  is  wanted  is  not  an  American  Christianity, 
but  a  Christian  America.  Christian  character  has  a  type  and 
mould  of  its  own,  not  of  race  or  climate,  not  Anglo-Saxon,  not 
Latin,  but  primitive  and  Apostolic.  The  Incarnation  fixed  for- 
ever its  quality  and  its  substance.  Church  life  in  this  country 
must  be  organised,  but  unlike  that  of  ages  of  ignorance  and 
craft  it  must  be  an  organization  of  minds  and  wills,  minds  that 
think  and  wills  that  are  free.  Washington  is  not  to  be  a  Jeru- 
salem or  a  Rome.  Let  it  be  a  city  set  spiritually  on  high,  to 
which  all  the  land  may  look,  praising  God  above  the  Seven  Hills 
of  Zion. 

Bishop  Huntington's  concluding  paragraphs  were  pro- 
phetic of  what  the  spirit  of  the  first  Bishop  of  Washington 
would  be: 

Among  transitions  and  pretensions  a  Bishop-elect  comes  to 
accept  his  charge.  The  ambassadorship,  with  its  credentials, 
was  defined  at  the  Lord's  Ascension.  We  only  touch  its  aspects 
as  they  are  presented  to  the  mind  of  a  man  before  us  who  has 
studied  both  the  Faith  and  the  times,  and  who  is  already  famil- 
iar by  practice  with  the  application  of  the  Christian  law  to  the 
conscience  and  the  will,  the  mind  and  the  affairs,  the  manhood 
and  the  womanhood  of  a  confiding  and  loving  people.  How  to 
stand  before  judges  and  among  rulers,  how  to  be  an  ambassador 


I76  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

of  tranquil  dignity  from  the  Court  of  Heaven,  how  to  keep  that 
which  is  committed  to  his  trust  along  with  those  who  bore 
witness  in  palaces  and  in  prisons,  around  the  Mediterranean 
in  the  capitals  of  three  continents,  —  how  to  be  and  to  do  this, 
and  yet  to  be  Servus  Nervorum,  is  the  problem  set  before  him. 
No  wonder  it  has  been  the  puzzle  of  so  many  who  being  called 
"lords"  have  been  too  great  to  "lord  it,"  and  of  so  many  who 
have  tried  to  hide  the  rebuke  of  their  arrogance  under  the  Latin 
phrase.  No  real  master  of  men,  certainly  no  prophet  of  God, 
could  let  the  badges  of  his  office,  or  the  cleverness  of  his  policy, 
or  the  decoration  of  his  person,  divert  his  concern  from  the  au- 
gust solemnity  of  his  calling.  The  leader  of  the  armies  of  the 
Revolution,  whose  name  the  Bishop  of  Washington  will  write 
and  speak  so  often,  majestic  in  his  obedience  and  obedient  in  his 
majesty,  scrupulous  in  every  essential  mark  of  his  command,  was 
never  known  to  so  thrust  himself  before  his  charge  as  to  obscure 
for  a  moment  the  grandeur  of  his  cause.  All  splendour  is  pale, 
all  display  vulgar,  all  beauty  deformed,  all  ornament  a  blemish, 
which  forgets  Him  who  seeth  not  as  man  seeth,  approving  not 
the  outward  appearance,  whatever  its  pretension,  but  the  servant- 
heart.  It  is  enough  to  take  a  post  of  hardship  in  that  society 
whose  glory  is  holiness,  splendid  in  its  simplicity,  fair  in  its 
spiritual  equality,  and  so,  wherever  it  is  preserved  in  its  purity, 
irresistible.  Its  dignitaries  carry  crosses.  Chiefs  of  all  are 
helpers  to  all.  Ability,  of  every  sort,  holds  itself  a  trusteeship 
to  be  answered  for.  These  ministers  have  a  name  strange  to 
the  ears  of  the  world,  but  familiar  and  dear  in  this  kingdom  of 
the    Redeemer's    charity  —  8lo.kovos.     The    Bishop    is    a    deacon 

still.1 

The  Bishop  of  Washington  will  be  a  patriot.  What  mixed 
and  motley  multitudes  will  come  and  tarry  and  go,  —  guests 
from  many  lands,  professors  of  all  religions  and  of  none,  out- 
landish theorists,  captains  of  enterprise,  dreamers,  destrucTionists, 
reformers,  some  seeking  spiritual  rest  and  finding  none.  Whether 
they  seek  or  not,  our  part  is  to  provide  that  if  they  seek  they 
shall  find  what  He  who  knew  all  that  is  in  man  has  provided, 
not  a  propaganda  of  occult  stratagems,  but  an  open  ministry  of 
righteousness  and  truth,  a  ministry,  patterned  after  the  Evangel- 
ists and  Apostles,  having  a  legislative  plan  outlined  in  the 
Republic  itself,  joined  in  the  Faith  confessed  with  the  great 
1  Cf.  Dr.  Satterlee's  sermon  at  his  son's  ordination,  p.  197. 


1896]  THE  MASTER   BUILDER  177 

Communions  abroad  and  in  sacraments  ordained  of  Christ,  abid- 
ing by  His  appointment  in  word  and  act,  abating  nothing  in  its 
worship  from  the  earliest  and  Scriptural  devotion,  borrowing 
nothing  from  the  pageants  or  embellishments  of  barbaric  specta- 
cles, too  jealous  of  the  primitive  purity  not  to  protect  its  sym- 
pathies or  cast  its  statutes  in  iron,  venerating  all  that  it  finds 
true  in  the  past,  awake  and  alive  to  all  that  is  religiously  sound 
and  strenuous  in  the  present,  determined  to  know  and  do  only 
the  will  of  God,  in  the  enlarging  national  life  that  is  to  come. 

It  is  right,  my  dear  Brother,  —  it  is  not  only  right  but  it  is 
honoring  your  commander,  —  that  you  should  take  up  your 
heavy  load  with  a  light  heart,  and  go  to  your  sacrificial  toil  with 
joyful  steps.  Your  setting  apart  is  not  by  the  "dead  hand" 
of  a  mortal  operation,  but  by  appointment  given  by  your  Saviour 
on  the  Ascension  Mount,  in  the  succession  of  an  inexhaustible 
grace.  Your  welcome  will  be  by  friends  and  fellow-laborers 
who  already  understand  the  duties  and  prize  the  privilege 
of  their  Churchly  inheritance.  Sometimes  in  the  midst  of 
them  you  will  feel  yourself  to  be  in  a  wilderness,  and  as  much 
a  missionary  as  the  Missionary  Bishop  of  Olympia  or  Montana, 
or  Utah.  That  puts  on  you  the  task  of  not  only  foreseeing  that 
future  but  of  opening  and  entering  it.  Remember  that  what- 
ever of  fair  promise  is  in  these  sanguine  "times'3  God's  Provi- 
dence has  put  there,  not  man's  wits  without  Him.  Resist  all 
beguiling  and  sentimental  reactions.  Leave  behind  everything 
that  exhausted  its  usefulness  in  conditions  that  are  gone  never 
to  return.  What  limitations  lie  in  your  path  you  will  soon  see 
and  never  be  suffered  to  forget.  Be  sure  that  God  sees  them  too, 
and  that,  in  spite  of  them,  you  will  nevertheless  live  and  labor  in 
the  wide  liberty  of  your  Father's  House.  Some  of  your  dearest 
plans  will  fail;  your  farthest  foresight  will  come  short;  your 
most  disinterested  aspirations  will  be  baffled.  Notwithstanding, 
they  are  safe  in  the  purpose  of  a  safer  Providence  than  yours. 
With  all  the  gifts  Heaven  has  lent  you,  you  will  look  on  some 
small  congregations,  and  then  you  may  think  of  the  ancient  pas- 
tor who  said  to  an  impatient  young  priest, " My  son,  the  day 
will  come  when  the  least  of  your  anxieties  will  be  that  you  have 
too  few  souls  to  answer  for  before  the  Judge."  Your  hand,  per- 
haps your  heart,  will  tremble.  He,  whose  angel  of  promise  said 
"Fear  not"  to  the  mother  of  the  Lord,  Son  of  the  Highest,  has 
spoken  in  His  strength,  by  His  angel  of  comfort,  to  every  true 


i78  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

workman,  —  Of  your  work  there  shall  be  no  failure,  for  of  this 
King's  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end! 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  Dr.  Satterlee  per- 
formed his  first  official  adt  as  Bishop  by  administering 
confirmation  in  Calvary.  The  following  account  of  it  is 
taken  from  the  Calvary  Evangel: 

The  confirmation  for  the  whole  parish  was  held  in  the  Parish 
Church  on  the  evening  of  the  Feast  of  the  Annunciation,  in 
order  that  the  children  of  his  own  flock  might  be  the  first  whom 
Bishop  Satterlee  should  confirm.  A  great  congregation  filled 
the  church  before  eight  o'clock,  and  at  that  hour  the  Bishop  and 
clergy  entered,  preceded  by  the  choirs  of  the  church  and  chapel, 
singing  the  616th  hymn. 

After  Evening  Prayer,  and  the  sermon  by  Bishop  Satterlee, 
from  the  first  and  last  verses  of  the  23  rd  Psalm,  the  large  class 
gathered  before  the  chancel,  each  of  the  clergy  of  the  parish  in 
turn  presenting  to  the  Bishop  those  candidates  whom  he  him- 
self had  prepared  for  Confirmation.  The  service  was  deeply 
impressive,  as  company  after  company  knelt  at  the  chancel 
rail,  and  the  Bishop,  so  long  their  redlor  and  guide,  laid  his 
hands  upon  their  heads,  and  notwithstanding  the  size  of  the 
class,  confirmed  each  individually.  At  the  close  of  the  service 
the  Bishop  addressed  the  members  of  the  class  briefly,  urging 
them  to  absolute  simplicity  and  truth  of  life. 

The  class  numbered  one  hundred  and  twenty-six,  and  was 
specially  interesting  from  the  fact  that  at  least  one-half  the 
candidates  were  men  and  boys,  including  nine  of  the  Armenian 
congregation  that  worships  at  the  chapel  and  several  men  from 
the  mission.  During  the  singing  of  the  623rd  hymn,  the  choir 
and  clergy  left  the  church.  And  so  ended  a  day  long  to  be 
remembered  in  Calvary  Parish. 

The  Bishop's  address  to  the  newly  confirmed  was 
drawn  from  the  fountain  of  courage  within  him  which 
had  just  been  fortified  by  his  consecration.  "Fear  not/3 
he  said.  "It  was  the  last  word  of  the  bishop  to  me 
this  morning  as  I  went  forward  to  receive  the  laying 
on  of  hands,  and  it  shall  be  my  last  word  to  you  —  Fear 


not." 


1896]  THE  MASTER   BUILDER  179 

The  Calvary  Evangel  published  the  following  letter 
written  after  the  consecration: 

TO  THE    PARISHIONERS   OF   CALVARY   CHURCH   AND   CALVARY 

CHAPEL 

My  dear  Friends:  The  deepest  feelings  of  this  life  can  never 
be  expressed  in  words,  and  I,  your  re&or,  can  never  tell  you  how 
gratefully  I  appreciate  all  the  kindness  and  affedion  that  you 
have  shown  to  me,  in  the  fourteen  years  that  I  have  had  the 
spiritual  charge  of  Calvary  Parish.  I  could  have  done  little  or 
nothing  without  your  sympathy  and  co-operation,  and  if  God  has 
blessed  our  work  and  its  development,  it  has  been  because  we 
have  labored  together,  side  by  side,  in  following  the  ideal  of 
parish  life  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  held   up   before  us. 

The  greatest  blessing  which  can  come  from  Heaven  upon  any 
parish  is  that  it  may  be  kept  by  Christ  in  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  and  in  the  bond  of  peace,  as  it  moves  onward.  God  grant 
that  this  blessing  may  belong  to  Calvary  Parish  through  all 
coming  days.  Christ,  Who  is  the  Pastor  and  Bishop  of  our 
souls,  will  prosper  our  work  and  care  for  its  necessities,  if  you 
only  try  earnestly  and  honestly  to  seek  and  do  His  blessed  will. 
Though  earthly  rectors  come  and  go,  He  abideth.  The  work  is 
His,  not  ours;  and  if  we  have  been  laborers  together  with  Him, 
the  bond  of  union  between  His  earthly  servants  is  formed  not 
for  time  but  for  eternity. 

As  I,  your  departing  rector,  look  back  upon  the  past  winter, 
I  am  deeply  touched  by  the  personal  generosity  and  kindness 
that  has  been  shown  to  me  and  mine  by  the  people  of  Calvary 
Church  and  Chapel.  I  shall  feel  more  at  home  in  the  new 
duties  of  my  office,  as  I  administer  the  Holy  rite  of  confirmation 
in  the  episcopal  robes  which  they  have  provided  for  me:  as  I 
write  from  the  desk  which  they  have  placed  in  my  library;  and 
as  I  distribute  the  missionary  fund  which  they  placed  in  my 
hands.1  Their  forethought  and  delicate  consideration  have  thus 
already  linked  my  new  work  with  associations  of  the  past,  and 
day  by  day  I  shall  have  reminders  of  those  I  love  so  well;  and 
if  hereafter  our  spheres  will  be  different,  let  us  remember  that 
there  are  no  farewells  in  the  spiritual  life:  no  separations  to 
sever  those  who  are  united   in  Christ  and   His  work.     What  a 

1  The  offertory  at  the  consecration  was  for  the  Bishop  of  Washington's  Fund. 


l8o  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

comfort  it  is  to  us  all,  in  days  like  these,  to  realize  the  depth  of 
meaning  in  that  article  of  the  Creed  — "I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church,  the  Communion  of  Saints." 

The  interests  and  the  people  of  Calvary  Parish  will  always 
be  dear  unto  me  as  my  own  life  and  will  be  always  remembered 
in  my  prayers. 

Affectionately,  your  redor  and  friend, 

HENRY  Y.    SATTERLEE. 

Dr.  Satterlee  and  his  family  left  for  Washington  with- 
out delay.  His  first  words  to  the  Diocese  of  Washington 
as  Bishop  took  the  form  of  a  pastoral  dated  on  the  day 
of  his  consecration.     He  begins: 

The  first  words  which,  as  your  Bishop,  I  write  unto  you  are 
words  of  deep  gratitude  for  the  unity  of  spirit  which  so  mani- 
festly pervades  the  diocese.  We  may  all  thank  God  and  take 
courage  as  we  contemplate  this  great  pentecostal  gift  from  the 
ascended  Christ,  our  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  in  heaven,  in 
whose  sight  the  needs  of  our  diocese  and  of  our  parishes  are  all 
known.  May  this  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace  be- 
come the  ruling  influence  of  the  Diocese  of  Washington.  Through 
all  coming  days  and  years  let  us  guard  and  treasure  it,  and  then 
hand  it  down  to  our  successors  as  a  pearl  of  great  price;  for 
upon  us  is  resting  the  God-given  responsibility  of  forming  now, 
in  the  beginning  of  our  history,  the  tradition  of  the  future. 

If  our  diocese  is  to  preserve  this  unity  through  future  days  it 
must,  first  of  all,  be  a  loyal  witness  for  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
world;  remembering  that  the  only  permanent  conditions  for 
church  unity  are  those  set  forth  in  that  ancient  apostolic  descrip- 
tion, "There  is  one  body  and  one  spirit  even  as  ye  are  called  in 
one  hope  of  your  calling,  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one 
God  and  Father  of  all  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in 

you  all." 

Unity  begins  in  God  and  not  in  man;  and  this  is  the  burden 
of  Christ's  own  high  priestly  prayer  before  he  offered  up  that 
one  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world  upon  the  cross,  by  which  he  was  to  draw  all  men  unto 
Him.  The  confession  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
is  the  rock  upon  which  He  builds  His  Church  and  the  condition 
not  only  of  all  future  unity  of  the  spirit  among  us,  but  also  of 


1896]  THE  MASTER   BUILDER  181 

all  religious  power  and  spiritual  progress,  is  that  we  hold  the 
mystery  of  that  faith,  which  was  once  for  all  delivered  to  the 
saints  in  a  pure  conscience,  living  in  the  abiding  consciousness 
that  Christ  in  Heaven  is  not  an  absent  but  an  ever  present  King, 
who,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  governing  His  Kingdom  on 
earth;  that,  as  Priest  in  heaven,  He  is  ceaselessly  working 
through  the  Church  which  is  His  body  on  earth;  that,  as  Prophet 
in  heaven,  He  is  ever  speaking  through  those  who  preach  Jesus 
Christ  and  Him  crucified;  that  the  greatest  honor  accorded  to 
mortal  man  in  this  lower  world  is  the  privilege  of  being  co- 
laborers  with  Him;  that  He  can  only  work  effectually  through 
us  in  proportion  as  we  give  ourselves  up  with  a  complete  self- 
surrender  to  His  will,  and  that  God's  Kingdom  will  only  come 
when  men  learn  to  do  God's  will  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. 

He  then  turns  to  a  consideration  of  how  the  modern 
Christian  is  to  play  his  part  in  dealing  with  the  complex 
and  manifold  problems  of  the  day.  "No  man  can  fore- 
cast the  exact  way  in  which  all  these  disturbing  questions 
are  to  be  settled,  but  we  Christians  know  the  end  from 
the  beginning;  Christ  is  revealing  Himself  in  the  very 
issues  that  perplex  us,  and  as  they  all  develop  themselves 
through  the  progress  of  His  Kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth, 
so  will  we  find  their  explanation  only  in  the  growing 
light  of  His  Incarnation.,,  It  is  He  who  is  the  inspiring 
force  in  men.  "We  cannot  inspire  ourselves. "  Among 
the  chief  aids  to  inspiration  is  the  Lord's  Day  in  which 
we  should  earnestly  strive  to  be  "in  the  Spirit,"  intent 
upon  the  things  of  God. 

The  balance  of  the  pastoral  is  devoted  to  the  value  of 
Sunday  observance.  The  Bishop's  exaggerated  Sabba- 
tarian ideas  do  not  assume  their  best  expression  in  this 
letter,  written  as  it  was  at  a  time  when  he  was  overtaxed 
and  harried  by  the  great  change  that  was  speeding  him 
into  a  new  world  of  activities. 

The  pastoral  closes  with  an  exhortation: 

We  are  now,  dear  brethren,  approaching  the  most  sacred 
season  of  all  the  year.  Let  us  follow  Christ  in  His  passion  to 
Calvary.     Let  us  be  at  the  foot  of  His  cross  on  Good  Friday. 


Ig2  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

Let  us  pray  that  on  Easter  Day  we  may  know  Him  and  the 
power  of  His  resurre&ion.  Let  us  beseech  Him  that  His  bless- 
ing may  rest  upon  us,  upon  our  parishes  and  upon  our  diocese 
as  we  begin  together  our  work  in  His  name. 

His  first  Sunday  in  his  Diocese,  Palm  Sunday,  was 
occupied  by  three  confirmations  —  at  the  Epiphany,  at 
St.  John's,  and  at  St.  Paul's.  At  the  close  of  his  sermon 
at  St.  John's  he  said  to  the  congregation: 

I  want  to  tell  you  that  this  is  a  marked  day  in  my  own  life, 
and  the  anticipation  has  been  more  than  eclipsed  by  the  realiza- 
tion. By  the  kind  way  in  which  I  have  been  received  I  feel  that 
I  am  welcome.  I  came  in  fear  and  trembling,  and  with  some 
heartache  at  the  separation  from  my  people  in  New  York  with 
whom  I  have  been  associated  fourteen  years.  But  my  trepida- 
tion has  already  almost  gone.  I  am  so  glad  we  have  entered 
on  our  work  under  the  shadow  of  the  Cross.  Let  us  day  by  day 
think  of  our  Diocese  and  its  needs.  Let  us  be  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cross  on  Good  Friday. 

In  the  two  months  which  intervened  between  his 
consecration  and  his  first  Diocesan  Convention,  he  made 
a  visitation  of  the  Diocese,  gaining  a  working  knowledge 
of  his  responsibilities  and  coming  into  personal  touch  with 
his  clergy.  He  was  received  with  eagerness  and  confi- 
dence wherever  he  went.  The  Rev.  Dr.  McKim,  an 
eminent  leader  of  Church  thought  and  activity  and,  since 
1888,  Redlorof  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany,  Washington, 
himself  prominent  among  those  voted  for  at  the  election, 
the  Sunday  after  the  Primary  Convention,  said  to  his 
people  from  the  pulpit  concerning  the  Bishop-eled: 

I  have  known  him  for  many  years,  and  very  soon  after  I 
knew  him  I  began  to  love  him.  He  is  a  large-minded,  big- 
hearted  man,  whom  everybody  loves  because  he  is  so  broad  in 
his  sympathies  and  so  whole-souled  in  his  work.  He  has  a 
genius  for  organization,  and  is  the  friend  of  the  poor,  for  whom 
he  labors  with  unceasing  diligence.  He  is  also  a  cultivated  and 
refined  Christian  gentleman,  whose  influence  in  this  community 
cannot  fail  to  be  most  salutary. 


1896]  THE  MASTER   BUILDER  183 

Should  he  decide,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to 
accept  the  episcopate  of  our  new  Diocese,  I  need  not  bespeak  for 
him  your  hearty  sympathy  and  co-operation,  for  I  am  sure  you 
will  give  it  unasked. 

Dr.  McKim  voiced  the  feeling  of  the  entire  Diocese. 
A  bishop  could  not  well  have  received  a  more  trustful  or 
loyal  reception  from  both  clergy  and  laity  than  was 
accorded  him. 

The  Diocesan  Journals  during  Bishop  Satterlee's  episco- 
pate are  of  value  to  the  biographer.  He  was  incapable 
of  being  provincial,  and  both  his  diary  and  successive 
addresses  reveal  his  mind  and  doings  better  than  any 
other  agency  excepting  his  letters,  which  were  never 
full  or  numerous  enough  to  cover  the  whole  ground. 
This  will  explain  the  frequent  quotations  from  the 
Journals. 

His  address  at  the  First  Diocesan  Convention  is  note- 
worthy as  indicating  the  principles  and  outlining  the 
policy  which  actuated  him  throughout  his  episcopate. 
Christ  as  King,  Prophet  and  Priest,  was  his  text.  It 
was  natural  that  his  earliest  word  should  have  to  do 
with  the  relation  between  the  things  of  Caesar  and  the 
things  of  God: 

The  power  that  Christ  promised  His  disciples  before  Pente- 
cost was  power  from  on  high,  energy  to  do  the  will  of  God; 
while  the  power  upon  which  all  human  government  rests  is  an 
authority  below  to  do  the  will  of  man,  and  to  obey  that  voice  of 
the  people  which  sometimes  coincides,  sometimes  conflicts,  with 
the  will  of  God.  Under  such  circumstances  there  could  be  no 
partnership  between  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  and  the  Roman 
Empire.  The  only  point  of  contact  between  the  two  was  through 
each  individual  man,  who  was,  at  once,  a  citizen  of  the  State 
and  a  citizen  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  .  .  .  Consequently  as 
we  look  back  upon  the  past  we  see  that  all  attempts  to  unite 
Church  and  State,  since  the  days  of  the  Emperor  Constantine, 
have  given  rise  to  two  persistent  evils:  First,  the  people  have 
been  antagonised  by  having  to  adopt  a  creed,  and  to  conform  to 
a  higher  law  of  morality  than  they  were  prepared  to  accept  of 


i84  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

their  own  free  will;  and,  second,  the  Church  herself  was  para- 
lyzed and  fettered  by  restrictions  which  coerced  her  conscience, 
and  prevented  her  from  taking  her  stand  as  a  fearless  witness  for 
Jesus  Christ. 

Brethren,  we  have  heard  from  our  childhood  of  the  former 
side,  and  as  loyal  American  citizens,  we  rejoice  with  the  whole 
community,  that  the  framers  of  our  country's  Constitution  have 
drawn  so  wise  and  lasting  a  line  of  demarcation  between  Church 
and  State;  but,  have  we,  as  citizens  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 
considered  the  other  side,  and  realized  our  splendid  liberties? 
If  the  fetters  have  fallen  from  the  wrists  of  the  one,  they  have 
no  less  been  stricken  from  those  of  the  other.  If  the  State  can- 
not consent  to  any  alliance  with  the  Church,  the  Church  cannot 
afford  to  receive  any  favors  from  the  State,  that  will  muzzle  her 
mouth  and  trammel  the  liberty  of  the  Sons  of  God.  The  incubus 
of  the  ages  has  been  removed  never  to  return.  Thank  God,  in 
this  fair  land  of  ours,  the  Church  is,  at  last,  as  free  as  the  State; 
free  to  preserve  her  own  past  traditions  that  reach  back  through 
eighteen  hundred  years;  free  to  cling  to  the  faith  once  for  all 
delivered  to  the  saints,  without  let  or  hindrance;  free  to  preach 
the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  without  fear  or  favor;  free  to  hold 
up  Christ's  own  standard  of  right,  against  all  forms  of  corrup- 
tion, in  high  places  as  well  as  low,  and  in  political  as  well  as 
social  life;  free,  above  all,  to  look  up  to  Christ,  the  King,  as  the 
Apostles  did  at  Pentecost. 

It  is  hard  for  us,  at  this  early  day,  to  forecast  the  far-reaching 
results  of  this  Christian  freedom.  Suffice  to  say  that  the  Church 
of  Christ  in  these  United  States  has  opportunities  before  her 
for  doing  Christ's  own  work  in  Christ's  own  way,  the  counter- 
part of  which  have  not  existed  for  centuries  in  any  other  civi- 
lized land;  and  now,  in  the  very  beginning  of  our  own  history  as 
a  Diocese,  we  should  lift  up  our  eyes  to  the  glowing  future,  and 
realize  the  advantages  and  spiritual  powers  that  will  come  to  the 
American  Church,  through  the  irrevocable  separation,  in  this 
land,  of  Church  and  State.  "Not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but 
by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord,"  are  words  that  ring  louder  and 
louder,  as  the  centuries  roll  on,  and  as  the  blood-bought  experi- 
ence of  the  ages  brings  out  their  meaning.  The  power  of  the 
secular  arm,  which  Christ  refused  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  he  refuses 
still,  as  He  sits  as  king  on  the  throne  in  Heaven.  Not  by  might, 
nor  by  any  form  of  earthly  power,   but  by  the  power  of  the 


1896]  THE  MASTER   BUILDER  185 

Spirit  which  He  sent  down  at  Pentecost,  does  He  guide  and 
shape  the  destinies  of  the  Church  on  earth.  Christ,  before  He 
was  crowned  as  King,  has  given  us  an  example  of  what  He 
would  have  us  to  do.  As  members  of  His  Church  on  earth,  and 
as  a  new-born  Diocese  in  the  Church  of  God,  it  is  for  us  to 
follow  on  in  His  footsteps,  and  to  surrender  ourselves  up  com- 
pletely, and  unreservedly  to  that  Pentecostal  Spirit  which  He 
sent  down  both  to  bring  to  our  remembrance  whatsoever  He  has 
said  unto  us,  and  to  guide  us  unto  all  truth.1 

In  practice  Bishop  Satterlee  was  scrupulously  loyal  to 
all  that  Cavour's  famous  epigram  libera  chiesa  in  libero 
stato  connotes.  As  interpreted  by  the  pseudo-liberalism 
of  Montalambert,  who  antedated  Cavour  in  its  use,  it 
looked  to  the  "subjection  of  the  State  to  the  Church, 
whereas  Cavour's  engagement  was  to  do  away  with  all 
the  old  devices  for  defending  the  civil  jurisdiction  against 
ecclesiastical  encroachments.  Thus  State  and  Church 
were  to  move,  each  in  its  own  orbit,  to  react  on  each 
other  for  mutual  improvement,  and,  where  occasion 
offered,  to  co-operate  in  forwarding  the  well-being  of 
humanity.'* 2  His  straightforward  nature  was  incapable 
of  disingenuousness  and  abhorred  intrigue.  He  never 
used  his  official  position  as  a  means  of  securing  political 
advantage  for  the  church,  or  for  those  individuals  who 
from  time  to  time  sought  his  influence  to  this  end. 

The  following  is  a  sample  of  many  letters  of  the  sort 
that  he  was  obliged  to  write  in  answer  to  requests  from 
acquaintances  and  friends  for  his  influence  in  securing 
appointments: 

dec  29,  1901. 

My  Dear  Dr.  A.:  I  have  just  received  your  kind  letter,  and 
in  reply  I  would  say  that  I  have  had  to  make  it  an  inflexible 
rule,  on  account  of  my  position  as  a  religious  teacher  and  bishop 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1896,  pp.  46-48. 

2  The  Cambridge  Modern  History  f  Vol.  xi,  p.  391. 

The  paragraph  from  which  the  quotation  is  taken  concludes:  "Cavour  never 
claimed  the  paternity  of  this  somewhat  idealistic  and  Utopian  conception,  al- 
though he  had  preached  it  with  sincere  conviclion  from  his  earliest  youth,  as 
appears  from  every  record  of  his  public  and  private  life." 


1 86  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

• 

of  the   Church,   not  to   ask   any   favors   of  the  United   States 
Government.  .  .  . 

Ever  faithfully  yours, 

HENRY  Y.    SATTERLEE. 

More  than   once  he   reiterated   his   position  in  public. 
Thus  in  his  annual  address  in  1901  he  says: 

After  I  was  elected  Bishop  and  took  counsel  with  those 
Bishops  and  others  who  stood  high,  by  wisdom,  experience  and 
positions  of  authority,  in  the  Church,  and  conferred  with  them 
about  the  duties  of  the  episcopal  office,  I  was  reminded  by 
them1  that  in  addition  to  these  heavy  responsibilities  it  would 
become  the  duty  of  the  future  Bishop  of  Washington,  in  the 
first  place,  to  create,  as  far  as  in  him  lies,  the  traditions  of  a 
Diocese  which  shall  always  stand  as  an  unfaltering  witness  for 
the  principle  of  the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  by  asking 
no  favors  from  the  Government. 

His  relations  with  the  personnel  of  the  government 
from  the  President  down  were  cordial  and  often  intimate, 
but  if,  for  instance,  he  asked  the  presence  of  a  high  official 
at  the  inauguration  of  a  new  enterprise  of  faith,  it  was 
not  to  secure  sectarian  advantage,  but  rather  to  promote 
that  recognition  of  the  Christian  faith  that  government 
owes  to  religion  in  a  country  where  there  is  a  free  Church 
in  a  free  State.  His  requests  were  of  the  sort  that  he 
would  have  commended  in  the  case  of  any  other  church. 
His  conception  of  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  State 
was  not  that  of  neutrality,  but  rather  of  interpenetration 
and  impartiality.  There  must  be  mutual  respect  so  that 
neither  would  usurp  the  powers  or  transgress  the  territory 
of  the  other.  The  government  official,  all  the  more 
because  of  the  dignity  of  his  position,  was  pledged  to 
active  Christian  faith.  He  would  have  opposed  an 
attempt  on  the  part  of  his  own  church  to  secure  state 
aid  for  religious  institutions  with  the  same  vehemence 
that  he  actually  did  oppose  other  churches  that  main- 
tained that  it  was  legitimate  to  secure  it,  if  it  could  be  so 
manoeuvred. 


1896]  THE  MASTER   BUILDER  187 

He  watched  with  vigilant  eye  the  action  of  the  govern- 
ment in  relation  to  the  Indians,  looking  for  a  larger 
measure  of  justice  toward  these  defenceless  people  than 
had  hitherto  been  accorded  them,  and  demanding  equal 
rights  for  the  various  churches  in  the  facilities  allowed  in 
ministering  to  them.  In  1906  he  and  Dr.  McKim  were 
appointed  a  committee  of  the  Board  of  Missions  to  wait 
on  President  Roosevelt  in  connection  with  alleged  irreg- 
ularities in  the  disbursement  of  the  Indian  "treaty' 
and  "trust"  funds.  It  was  a  delicate  piece  of  business, 
complicated  by  the  fact  that  the  committee  was  asso- 
ciated with  a  third  party,  whose  mode  of  approach 
threatened  to  precipitate  trouble  to  no  good  end.  As 
Bishop  Satterlee's  correspondence  shows,  he  steered  the 
matter  through  with  such  skill,  that  both  the  President 
and  Commissioner  F.  E.  Leupp  were  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  square  themselves  with  the  public.  Commis- 
sioner Leupp  closes  his  letter  of  explanation  as  follows: 

Thus  much  I  feel  bound  to  say,  not  simply  to  clarify  a  rather 
lamely  expressed  message,  but  by  way  of  justifying  the  frank 
and  courteous  treatment  your  committee  has  accorded  me.  I 
have  been  highly  gratified  by  a  letter  just  received  from  Bishop 
Hare,  whom  I  am  proud  to  number  among  my  friends,  and  who 
properly  resents  the  efforts  made  to  give  a  false  and  hostile  color 
to  a  private  note  of  his  which  recently  found  its  way  into  print. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  I  never  allowed  any  forced  interpreta- 
tion of  that  note  to  mislead  me  into  thinking  that  he  doubted 
my  own  sincerity  of  purpose,  whatever  he  might  think  of  my 
official  imperfections  and  inaptitudes  in  administration. 

Bishop  Satterlee's  interests  were  certainly  not  cir- 
cumscribed. He  had  an  understanding  sympathy  with 
soldiers  and  sailors,  and  served  on  various  committees 
concerned  with  the  appointment  of  Army  and  Navy 
chaplains.  He  was  selected  by  the  General  Convention 
of  1898  as  the  authority  through  whom  nominees  from 
the  ranks  of  the  clergy  should  be  presented  for  appoint- 
ment   to    the    Government.     It     entailed     an    immense 


1 88  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

amount  of  work  and  added  greatly  to  his  correspondence.1 
He,  more  than  any  other  one  person,  was  instrumental 
in  promoting  a  higher  standard  for  the  difficult  and 
thankless  task  of  the  Chaplains.  Today  the  status 
accorded  Chaplains  leaves  them  in  so  anomalous  a  posi- 
tion, and  so  destitute  of  proper  equipment  and  facilities 
for  their  work,  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  the  fire 
of  their  enthusiasm  speedily  dies  and  that  their  achiev- 
ments  are  severely  limited.  Bishop  Satterlee  felt  that  if 
the  Government  provided  Chaplains  at  all  their  appoint- 
ment should  be  made  whole-heartedly.  Both  officers  and 
men  are  quick  to  discern  whether  religion  is  accorded  a 
grudging  or  a  hearty  recognition.  One  reason  at  least 
why  an  Army  Chaplain's  responsibility,  perplexing  and 
discouraging  under  the  most  favorable  conditions  but 
doubly  so  as  things  have  been  in  the  past,  is  a  baffling 
one,  is  because  his  existence  is  due  to  a  concession  rather 
than  a  conviction.  Bishop  Satterlee's  successor  in  office 
has  inherited  both  his  opportunity  and  his  zeal  in  the 
cause  with  good  hope  of  deepening  the  impression  made 
by  his  predecessor. 

Especially  toward  the  end  of  his  life,  he  viewed  with 
intelligent  sympathy  the  vexations  and  difficulties  of  the 
Church  of  England  as  an  established  Church.  Though 
clear  in  his  own  mind  that  a  State  Church  was  fettered, 
and  could  never  know  the  full  meaning  of  religious  liberty 
until  released  from  all  political  entanglement,  he  was 
more  than  doubtful  as  to  the  expediency  of  any  violent 
break  where  the  roots  of  the  Church's  life  had  been 
intertwined  with  all  the  traditions  and  institutions  of  the 
nation  through  long  centuries.  Constant  agitation  and 
labor  toward  disentanglement,  he  would  advocate.  The 
abrogation  of  the  Concordat  in  France  he  lamented  as 
both  in  motive  and  manner  being  an  injury  to  the  body 
politic  not  less  than  to  religion. 

To  revert  once  more  to  Bishop  Satterlee's  first  Con- 
vention Address,  after  touching  upon  the  prophetic  office 

1  See  Journal  of  General  Convention,  1901,  pp.  66,  67. 


1896]  THE  MASTER  BUILDER  189 

of  Christ  which  presents  Him  as  "ever-speaking"  through 
a  progressive  revelation,  limited  and  homogeneous,  he 
deals  with  the  place  of  the  Bible,  especially  the  New 
Testament,  in  the  Church's  life.  To  him  the  Gospels 
were  not  the  story  of  One  who  has  gone,  but  the  intro- 
duction of  One  who  has  come.  They  proclaim  a  Presence 
and  the  character  of  that  Presence.  "If  we  would 
preserve  the  Catholic  traditions  of  the  past,  it  is  thus 
that  as  a  Diocese  we  must  hold  to  the  Bible;  if  we 
would  be  led  by  the  Spirit  of  Truth  safely  through  all 
those  theological  novelties  and  speculative,  religious 
tendencies  that  are  now  so  prevalent,  it  is  thus  that  we 
must  try  the  spirits,  whether  they  be  of  God."  1 

The  reverence  with  which  he  viewed  the  Prayer  Book 
and  its  inviolability  is  dealt  with  elsewhere.  His  first 
Address  concluded  with  his  estimate  of  its  place  and 
worth:  "Though  there  are  and  always  will  be  different 
schools  of  thought  in  the  Church,  and  a  wide,  allowable 
difference  of  ritual  and  use  in  divine  worship,  everyone 
knows  what  is  meant  by  a  Prayer  Book  Churchman. 
A  Prayer  Book  Churchman  means  an  honest,  straight- 
forward Churchman,  who,  whatever  his  Catholic  or 
Protestant  tendencies  may  be,  has  nothing  to  conceal, 
nothing  to  be  ashamed  of,  nothing  to  apologize  for; 
and  who  never,  even  in  his  inmost  thought,  puts  his  own 
Church  second,  and  some  other  Church  or  seel:  first.  If 
truthfulness  has  been  the  characteristic  of  our  own 
Church  for  ages,  so  has  disingenuousness  been  the  sin 
most  abhorrent  to  her  clergy  and  her  people." 2  He 
felt  that  it  was  impossible  to  be  extreme  in  the  one 
direction  or  the  other  without  being  tainted  with  dis- 
loyalty, an  opinion  that  was  modified  with  time. 

1  See  Journal  of  General  Convention,  1901,    p.  49.  *  Ibid.,  pp.  9,  52. 


CHAPTER  X 

OR    WALK    WITH    KINGS  —  NOR    LOSE    THE    COMMON    TOUCH 

1896 

The  White  Czars  people  pray: 

"  Thou  God  of  the  South  and  the  North, 

We  are  crushed,  we  are  bleeding; 

*Tis  Christ,  'tis  Thy  Son  interceding; 

Forth,  Lord,  come  forth! 

Bid  the  slayer  no  longer  slay." 

RICHARD   WATSON    GILDER 

IMMEDIATELY  Convention  adjourned  the  Bishop 
and  his  family  sailed  for  Naples  on  the  S.S.  "Werra' 
for  a  holiday,  before  plunging  again  into  the  study 
of  the  religious,  social  and  financial  conditions  of  the 
Diocese  which  occupied  his  first  year  in  the  episcopate. 
A  month  was  spent  in  Italy  during  which  Ravenna 
with  its  churches  was  visited. 

He  "was  much  struck  with  the  traces  of  primitive 
Christianity  visible  in  the  buildings  and  their  decorations. 
These  churches  are  a  proof  of  how  much  nearer  the 
Anglican  Communion  resembles  the  early  Apostolic 
Church  than  does  the  modern  Roman  Church  of  to-day."  l 
He  was  on  his  way  to  Venice  when  he  "received  a 
communication  from  England,  asking  me  to  present  the 
Petition  of  English-speaking  Christians  in  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain  and  Canada,  in  behalf  of  the 
Armenians,  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  I  replied/'  he 
proceeds,  "that  I  was  very  reluctant  to  acl:,  as  I  came 
abroad  for  a  rest  after  the  most  anxious  and  burdensome 
year  of  my  whole  life  —  to  rest  for  the  sake  of  the 
Diocese  of  Washington  —  that  if  there  were  no  other 
Bishop  who  would  go,  I  would  undertake  the  duty  for  the 
sake  of  the  suffering  Christians  in  the  Turkish  Empire."  2 

1  Journal,  p.  36.  2  Ibid.,  p.  36. 


1896]  OR  WALK  WITH   KINGS  191 

A  few  days  later  at  the  urgent  solicitation  of  the  Bishop 
of  New  York  he  undertook  the  novel  responsibility. 
It  was  in  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  whence  "the  Crusaders 
went  forth  to  rescue  the  Holy  Land''  that  he  consecrated 
himself  to  the  cause  of  the  Armenian  Christians,  "who  are 
being  daily  martyred  by  the  same  Mohammedan  power  that 
the  Crusaders  went  forth  to  fight  exactly  900  years  ago." 
The  Armenian  atrocities,  ushered  in  by  the  brutal 
massacre  at  Sasun  in  1894,  reached  a  zenith  of  horror 
paralleled  only  by  the  Bulgarian  atrocities  which  had 
aroused  the  invective  of  Gladstone  in  1876.  The  "un- 
speakable Turk/'  bent  on  earning  the  reprobation  meted 
out  to  him  by  Christian  nations,  was  "breathing  threaten- 
ing and  slaughter'  against  the  Armenians  because  they 
were  Armenians,  because  they  were  weak  and  unprotected, 
because  they  were  Christians.  Political  jealousies  and 
fear  lest  that  inflammable  corner  of  Europe  bordering  on 
Asia  should  start  a  general  conflagration  among  the 
nations  held  the  Powers  from  any  forceful  action.  Bishop 
Satterlee,  in  his  brief  reference  to  his  mission  in  his 
annual  address  (1897)  speaks  words  which  in  the  light 
of  today's  war  are  prophetic: 

Swift-gathering  forces,  apparently  beyond  human  control,  are 
driving  the  nations  of  Europe  helplessly,  and  sometimes  unwill- 
ingly onward  towards  some  coming  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
which  is  equally  dreaded  by  all,  on  account  of  its  unknown 
results.  None  can  tell  what  a  day  will  bring  forth;  but  all  the 
while,  Christian  believers  in  the  East  are  the  greatest  sufferers 
and  are  dying  by  thousands.1 

The  story  of  Armenia  is  the  saddest  part,  and  the 
most  discreditable  to  the  great  Christian  nations,  of  all 
the  sad  history  of  the  Christian  peoples  of  the  Near  East. 
To  understand  the  full  significance  of  Bishop  Satterlee's 
mission  to  the  Czar  a  resume  of  the  story  of  Armenia 
will  be  of  service.2 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1897,  pp.  57,  58. 

'  For  an  accurate  and  fearless  consideration  of  the  whole  question  see  the 
Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vols,  x  and  xii. 


i92  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

Of  all  the  Christian  races  under  Turkish  misrule,  the 
position  of  the  Armenians  has  been  from  the  beginning 
the  most  hopeless  and  helpless.  Like  the  Jews  they  are 
a  nation  without  a  state.  They  are  defenceless  and 
lacking  those  aggressive  qualities  which  enable  the 
Albanians  in  similar  circumstance  to  resist  persecuting 
force  by  defensive  force.  Their  immediate  neighbors, 
the  Kurds,  are  warlike  by  nature  and  hate  them  as 
Sunnis *  alone  are  capable  of  hating  Christians.  For 
more  than  five  centuries  the  Armenians  have  met  the 
sort  of  treatment  that  a  meek  people  without  a  remnant 
of  national  independence  left  to  them  would  be  likely 
to  receive.  They  have  been  a  football  between  Russia 
and  Turkey,  and  have  sometimes  received  an  additional 
kick  from  the  sidelines. 

By  the  Peace  of  San  Stefano  (March  3,  1878)  the 
Sublime  Porte  engaged  "to  carry  into  effect  without 
further  delay,  the  improvements  and  reforms  demanded 
by  local  requirements  in  the  provinces  inhabited  by 
Armenians,  and  to  guarantee  their  security  from  Kurds 
and  Circassians."  (Article  16.)  The  Treaty  of  Berlin, 
signed  four  months  later,  has  been  the  paper  charter  of 
the  Near  East  until,  recently,  with  other  scraps  of  paper, 
it  went  up  in  smoke,  the  stench  of  which  is  still  in  our 
nostrils. 

The  Porte  mocked  the  world  by  another  promised 
"reform."  By  Article  61  of  the  Treaty,  he  undertook 
"to  carry  out,  without  further  delay,  the  ameliorations 
and  reforms  demanded  in  the  provinces  inhabited  by  the 
Armenians,  and  to  guarantee  their  security  against  the 
Circassians  and  Kurds."  These  "reforms"  were  to  be 
put  through  under  the  supervision  of  the  Powers,  who 
would  "superintend  their  application."  Great  Britain 
had  already  assumed 2  especial  responsibilities  in  con- 
nection with  Armenian  protection. 

1  Orthodox  followers  of  "the  Prophet." 

2  In  the  Cyprus  Convention  of  June  4  which  was  published  during  the  pro- 
gress of  the  Berlin  Congress. 


1896]  OR  WALK  WITH  KINGS  193 

The  Sultan  had  traded  a  promise  on  the  part  of  Turkey 
"to  introduce  necessary  reform,"  for  a  promise  on  the 
part  of  Great  Britain  to  aid  Turkey  consolidate  her 
Asiatic  dominions  against  further  Russian  encroachment, 
with  the  cession  to  England  of  Cyprus  to  boot.  It  was 
thus  that  the  great  Beaconsfield  purchased  "peace  with 
honor "  ! 

During  the  progress  of  the  Berlin  Congress  the  Ar- 
menians, inspired  by  a  fresh  hope  of  immunity  from 
outrages,  presented  a  secret  petition  in  which  they 
disclaimed  political  ambition  and  begged  "for  an  arrange- 
ment modelled  on  that  of  the  Lebanon,  under  a  Christian 
governor.  Instead  of  this,  the  collective  wisdom  of 
Europe  was  content  with  a  vague  promise  of  security 
and  reforms.  Great  Britain  did  indeed  send  consuls  to 
report  on  the  condition  of  Asia  Minor;  but  even  Glad- 
stone, when  he  came  into  power  in  1880,  dropped  the 
Armenian  question,  at  a  hint  from  Bismarck."  L 

Who  will  dare  to  condemn  the  Armenians  if,  after 
having  had  the  promise  of  reform  punctuated  by  fresh 
massacres,  they  let  loose  a  flicker  of  aspiration  for  an 
autonomous  State  of  their  own,  and  tried  to  influence 
England  in  this  direction?  Though  the  conscience  of 
the  Powers  was  steadily  stinging  them,  their  fear  of 
unpleasant  consequences  to  themselves  kept  them  from 
effective  action.  A  new  outrage  would  kindle  only  a 
momentary,  inoperative  flame  of  indignation,  so  that  the 
wily  Turk,  laughing  in  his  sleeve,  promised  new  "reforms,'5 
and  postponed  to  a  more  convenient  date  the  next  in 
order  of  his  series  of  atrocities.  The  helpless  Armenians 
were  bidden  now  to  look  to  the  Sultan's  promises  for 
protection,  now  to  Russia,  now  to  that  muffled  discord 
known  as  the  "Concert  of  the  Powers."  They  were 
bewildered.  They  were  in  despair.  They  knew  not 
whither  to  look  or  whom  to  trust. 

As  early  as  1883  the  "man  of  blood  and  iron'  frankly 
declared  that  Germany  could  not  discommode  herself  by 

1  The  Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  xii,  p.  416. 


i94  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

lending  a  hand  to  aid  persecuted  Armenia.  France  and 
Russia  co-operated  with  England  in  a  timid  way.  Turk- 
ish officials,  not  among  the  least  astute  of  men,  took  note 
of  the  timidity  and  shaped  their  course  accordingly. 
After  the  Sasun  outrages  with  their  bloodshed  and  torture 
and  indescribable  crimes,  the  Turkish  Government,  with 
a  show  of  feeling,  deemed  it  expedient  under  the  insistence 
of  England  to  appoint  a  Commission  of  inquiry.  The 
reality  of  their  feeling  is  sufficiently  shown  in  the  fact 
that  Zekki  Pasha,  the  human  bloodhound,  who  had 
superintended  the  massacre  which  destroyed  twenty-four 
villages,  was  decorated  for  "his  services."  Doubtless 
the  report  of  the  Commission  (appointed  "to  inquire  into 
the  criminal  conduct  of  Armenian  brigands !")  would 
have  been,  that  the  massacre  had  been  provoked  by 
Armenian  revolt  or  intrigue,  had  not  the  presence  of 
consular  representatives  from  Great  Britain,  Russia  and 
France  necessitated  a  truthful  judgment.  The  Commis- 
sion concluded  that  the  massacre  was  not  justifiable,  and 
more  reforms  were  urged.  The  public  opinion  of  the 
world  was  aroused,  and  the  petition  to  the  Czar  (Nicholas 
II)  entrusted  to  Bishop  Satterlee  was  one  expression  of  it. 
He  had  hardly  concluded  his  mission  when  some  6,000 
Christian  Armenians  were  brutally  slaughtered  in  the 
streets  of  Constantinople  itself  (August  27  and  28,  1896), 
rousing  Gladstone  to  brand  Abd-ul-Hamid  II  as  the 
"Great  Assassin."  Such  was  the  cause  to  which  Bishop 
Satterlee  lent  himself,  a  cause  which  still  needs  the 
championship  of  all  the  strong.  The  conflagration  fore- 
seen by  the  seers  of  the  last  half-century  has  come,  and 
while  these  words  are  being  penned  the  poor,  hunted 
Armenians  are  beset  to  the  death  by  the  ruthless 
Kurds  and  other  Moslems,  under  the  declaration  of 
"holy  war"  by  the  Sheik  ul  Islam  and,  it  might  truth- 
fully be  added,  of  unholy  war  by  the  Christian  nations 
of  Europe. 

The  text  of  the  petition  which  the  Bishop  carried  was 
as  follows: 


1896]  OR  WALK  WITH  KINGS  195 

May  it  please  your  Most  Gracious  Majesty:  —  We,  the  under- 
signed bishops,  clergy,  and  ministers  of  Christian  Churches, 
in  England  and  America,  desire  to  approach  your  Majesty  on 
behalf  of  the  suffering  Armenian  Christians  in  Asia  Minor. 

We  live  entirely  outside  the  field  of  international  diplomacy, 
so  that  this,  our  appeal,  has  no  diplomatic  significance. 

We  venture  to  make  it  in  the  name  of  our  common  Lord  and 
Saviour,  and  solely  as  an  act  of  Christian  duty,  moved  by  pity 
for  our  perishing  fellow  Christians;  and  we  are  emboldened  thus 
to  approach  your  Majesty  in  the  belief  that  at  this  solemn 
season  of  your  coronation,  when  you  have  besought  the  grace 
of  God  to  rule,  in  Christ's  name,  over  a  great  and  powerful 
people,  you  will  desire  to  extend  your  sympathy  and  protection 
to  those  unoffending  and  destitute  sufferers,  many  of  whom  are 
perishing  miserably  every  day,  whilst  others  are  living  in  con- 
stant fear  of  being  compelled  at  any  moment,  either  to  abjure 
their  Christian  faith,  or  to  suffer  unspeakable  outrage. 

The  continuance  of  these  horrors  lays  on  all  who  could  arrest 
them  an  awful  responsibility  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  we  most 
earnestly  entreat  your  Majesty  so  to  use  your  august  and  benef- 
icent influence  as  to  secure,  in  combination  with  other  Christian 
Powers,  safety  of  property,  life,  and  honor  to  those  who  still 
survive.  If  your  Majesty  can  do  this,  countless  prayers  will 
ascend  for  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty  to  rest  upon  your  reign, 
thus  auspiciously  crowned  at  its  commencement  with  a  great 
and  noble  act  of  saving  mercy,  and  your  petitioners  in  gratitude 
will  ever  join  in  this  prayer. 

This  petition,  which  originated  with  the  Bishop  of 
Hereford  (Dr.  Percival)  and  others,  was  signed  by  more 
than  half  the  English  bishops,  seventy-three  bishops  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  America,  by  the  Scottish  bishops,  six 
in  Ireland,  the  twenty-one  Methodist  bishops  in  America, 
and  the  leading  ministers  of  other  religious  communi- 
ties in  England  and  America.  The  petition  represented 
a  constituency  of  40,000,000  English-speaking  people. 
This  mode  of  approach  to  the  Czar  was  resorted  to  be- 
cause Russia  had  intimated  to  the  other  Powers  that  any 
coercive  force  exercised  would  be  counted  a  hostile  act. 
Everything    was    done    with    the    greatest    secrecy.     The 


i96  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

difficulty  was  how  to  get  the  petition  presented  without 
rousing  suspicion  of  diplomatic  intrigue.  Owing  to  the 
connection  between  Church  and  State  in  England  it 
would  not  be  possible  for  an  English  bishop  to  undertake 
the  delicate  errand.  It  seemed  providential  that  the 
Bishop  of  Washington  was  at  hand.  When  he  first 
consented  to  accept  the  responsibility  he  did  it  on  the 
condition  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Dr. 
Benson)  would  append  his  signature  to  the  petition. 
He  had  withheld  his  signature  fearing  lest  the  State 
position  which  he  occupied  would  be  prejudicial  to  its 
success,  but  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Bishop  Satterlee  stating 
the  situation  in  terms  that  were  tantamount  to  giving 
his  signature. 

Two  weeks  after  the  subject  of  the  mission  to  the  Czar 
was  broached  to  him,  he  was  on  his  way  to  St.  Petersburg 
with  the  precious  document  carefully  concealed  in  the 
bottom  of  his  trunk.  He  was  afraid  lest  it  might  be 
brought  to  light  in  the  examination  of  luggage  at  the 
border.  But  he  had  nothing  to  fear.  At  the  customs 
house  he  and  his  party  (Mr.  George  Zabriskie,  Mr. 
Arthur  R.  Gray  and  Dr.  Ferguson)  met  with  the  marked 
courtesy  which  was  invariably  shown  them  throughout 
their  sojourn  in  the  Czar's  dominions. 

The  party  arrived  on  July  19.  The  Bishop  on  the 
following  day  called  upon  the  American  minister,  the 
Hon.  Clifton  R.  Breckinridge. 

Gave  full  details  of  our  Mission;  and  said  that  as  it  was  of 
a  purely  religious  character,  we  came  to  him  only  informally  to 
request  his  counsel.  He  thoroughly  understood  the  nature  of 
that  Mission,  and  gave  us  much  valuable  advice;  saying  that 
he  would  explain  to  those  in  authority  that  we  represented  no 
political  school  or  influence;  but  came  to  ask  an  audience  of 
the  Emperor  purely  on  a  Christian  errand  of  mercy.  In  the 
afternoon  I  shortly  after  met  Prince  Andronikoff  Comneno,  and 
was  introduced  by  him  to  the  Most  Rev.  Germanos  Chourmouzes, 
Metropolitan  of  Silesia,  a  most  Apostolic  and  spiritually-minded 
man,  who  lives  in  Tarsus  in  the  home  of  St.  Paul   himself,  and 


1896]  OR  WALK  WITH   KINGS  197 

was  the  representative  Patriarch  of  Antioch  at  the  coronation 
of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  who  was  now  in  St.  Petersburg  to 
plead  the  cause  of  his  suffering  people.  For  the  next  two  weeks 
I  was  daily  in  the  company,  not  only  of  these  godly  men  but 
also  of  Prince  Maltos  of  Odessa;  Prince  Beboutoff,  the  Charge 
d'Affaires  at  St.  Petersburg  of  the  Catholicos  of  Etchmiadin, 
and  the  Supreme  Patriarch  of  all  the  Armenians;  the  Greek 
Minister  at  the  Court  of  Russia;  the  Editor  of  the  "Tiflis 
Gazette  of  the  Caucasus";  and  with  several  others  who  were 
deeply  interested  in  my  Mission.1 

The  doors  of  the  Imperial  audience  chamber  were  not 
quick  to  open.  Suspicion  and  timidity  are  always  lurking 
in  the  purlieus  of  absolutism,  so  that  it  was  no  easy  task 
to  carry  a  straightforward  plea  for  mercy,  that  had 
superior  claim  over  all  other  requests,  into  the  royal 
presence.  The  Metropolitan  of  Silesia  got  in  the  thin 
end  of  the  wedge  when  he  secured  audience  with  the 
Empress  Dowager,  and  told  her  that  "he  had  come  from 
the  Far  East,  and  the  Bishop  of  Washington  from  the 
Far  West,  on  the  same  errand  of  mercy  in  behalf  of  the 
suffering  Christians  in  the  Turkish  Empire." 

During  the  days  of  waiting  the  Bishop  was  not  idle. 
The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  unite  in  prayer  with  those 
interested  in  the  mission. 

The  Rev.  Arthur  R.  Gray,  recalling  their  experience, 
writes: 

The  first  thing  that  I  remember  is  that  he  took  the  embassy 
to  the  Czar  so  deeply  to  heart  that  he  prayed  about  it  all  the 
time.  I  never  saw  a  man  take  a  thing,  which  the  ordinary  man 
would  have  taken  in  an  ordinary  way,  so  dead  in  earnest.  In 
the  hotel  in  St.  Petersburg  we  had  a  salon  between  our  bed- 
rooms and,  while  most  of  us  sat  in  the  salon,  the  Bishop  was 
seldom  there,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  was  back  in  a  corner 
of  his  bed-room  on  his  knees  praying.  Whenever  we  would  go 
into  the  room  he  would  stumble  up  from  his  knees,  his  mind 
still  dwelling  upon  heavenly  things,  and  absently  ask  us  what 
we  wanted.     Generally  we  would  tell  him  that  it  was  time  for 

1   Bishop's  Journal,  pp.  37,  38. 


i98  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

him  to  get  up  and  keep  an  appointment.  His  response  to  this 
notification  was  very  characteristic  on  occasions,  for,  forgetting 
that  he  was  down  on  earth,  and  had  therefore  certain  social 
amenities  to  observe,  he  would  put  on  his  smoking  jacket  over 
his  long  apron  waistcoat,  and  his  Episcopal  hat  on  backwards, 
and  start  for  the  carriage.  His  life  was  so  profoundly  one  of 
prayer  for  the  Armenians,  that  he  paid  but  little  attention  to 
the  things  of  this  world. 

Another  very  characteristic  thing  was  that  he  felt  that,  con- 
sidering the  formality  of  the  occasion,  he  should  wear  an  Epis- 
copal ring,  the  Washington  ring  not  having  yet  been  presented  to 
him.  I  have  a  large  black  seal  ring  which  I  still  wear,  and  for 
which  he  made  application  one  day,  that  he  might  put  it  on  the 
Episcopal  finger  in  lieu  of  the  real  thing.  He  wore  it  about 
twenty-four  hours  and  then  came  back  to  me  in  his  great  big 
loving  way,  and  said  that  he  could  not  do  it,  as  it  would  be  a 
deception,  and  that,  despite  the  embarrassment  of  not  having 
one,  he  would  go  without  it  rather  than  wear  an  imitation. 

The  Bishop's  diary,  though  sketchy,  is  the  best  guide  we 
have  to  the  happenings  of  these  eventful  days: 

July  22,  Wednesday.  —  Called  on  the  American  Minister  in  the 
morning,  who  told  me  that  he  had  explained  to  Prince  Labanoff, 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  the  nature  of  my  Mission,  and  had 
received  a  comforting  but  non-committal  reply.  In  the  after- 
noon I  went  with  him  and  Prince  Labanoff  to  call  upon  Prince 
Galitzin,  the  Head  of  the  Court  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  to 
request  an  interview  with  her.  In  the  railroad  car  I  was  pre- 
sented to  Prince  Pobedonostzeff,  Minister  of  Religion,  and,  of 
course,  the  most  powerful  lay-man  in  the  Russian  Church.  At 
Peterhoff"  the  whole  station  was  decorated  on  account  of  the 
Church  car  at  the  station,  which  was  to  be  consecrated  on 
the  morrow,  and  to  be  sent  forth  for  the  use  of  the  Priests  in  the 
Russian  Church  in  Siberia.  The  Priest  in  charge  courteously 
requested  me  to  be  present  on  the  next  day  at  the  consecration 
services,  but  I  was  unable  to  do  so.  On  my  arrival  at  the 
palace,  Prince  Galitzin  received  us  very  courteously,  and  said 
that  the  Empress  Maria  Teodorovna  would  accord  me  an  audi- 
ence after  I  had  seen  the  Emperor.  On  my  return  to  Prince 
AndronikofFs  house  at  St.  Petersburg,  I  at  once  wrote  to  Baron 


1896]  OR  WALK  WITH  KINGS  199 

Frederick,    the    Head    of  the    Emperor's    Court,    requesting    an 
interview  with  His  Majesty.1 

In  the  interval  of  waiting  the  Bishop  had  ample  oppor- 
tunity to  confer  with  the  Metropolitan  of  Silesia,  relative 
to  the  cause  which  in  common  they  were  representing. 
He  was  also  in  daily  contact  with  high  Government 
officials.  He  shared  with  interest  and  reverence  in  the 
celebration  of  the  Divine  Liturgy  at  St.  Isaac's  Cathedral. 
An  excursion  to  Finland  helped  to  fill  in  the  time.  "The 
excursion  was  altogether  most  interesting,  besides  it 
afforded  me  large  opportunities  of  conversing  with  the 
Metropolitan  and  the  Armenian  representative  on  the 
subject  of  the  reunion  of  Christendom."  2  Bishop  Satter- 
lee  and  the  Metropolitan  while  in  Finland  went  afishing 
together.  "I  remarked  to  him,  "said  the  Bishop,  "that 
it  was  a  sort  of  apostolic  expedition,  and  furthermore,  it 
was  very  like  to  another  apostolic  trip  in  that  we  caught 
nothing!  " 

On  the  second  of  August  word  was  received  through 
the  American  Legation,  from  Prince  LabanofF,  that  the 
Emperor  would  receive  the  Bishop  the  following  day. 
The  entry  in  the  diary  referring  to  the  audience  is  brief: 

August  5,  Wednesday.  —  Started  for  the  palace  at  Peterhoff  at 
midnight,  and  went  to  see  the  Emperor.  I  was  received  by  the 
Emperor  and  Empress  at  a  perfectly  private  audience,  at  which 
no  other  person  was  present;  and  they  kindly  accorded  me  the 
fullest  opportunity,  not  only  to  present  the  petition  itself,  but  to 
explain  its  object.  Returning  home  I  found  the  Metropolitan 
and  others  awaiting  me  at  my  hotel.3 

The  day  following  he  was  given  a  dinner  by  the 
prominent  Armenians  residing  in  St.  Petersburg,  "and 
this  was  followed  by  the  Moleben  service  at  Prince 
AndronikofF's  house,  or  a  thanksgiving  for  my  mission  to 
Russia,  in  which  the  Metropolitan  of  Silesia  officiated,  and 
Father   John    of   Kronstadt    assisted.     The    choir    of   St. 

1  Bishop's  Journal,  p.  38.  ■  Ibid.,  p.  39.  ■  Ibid.,  p.  39. 


200  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

Isaac's  Cathedral,  or  at  least  a  large  part  of  it,  rendered 
the  musical  portion  of  the  service."  Father  John  Sergieff, 
one  of  the  greatest  of  modern  mystics,  was  one  of  the 
most  revered  clerics  and  famous  characters  in  Russia.  His 
book  My  Life  in  Christ  has  been  translated  into  English 
and   takes    a   permanent   place   in   mystical  literature. 

The  Bishop's  diary  gives  us  a  fuller  account  of  his 
interview  with  the  Empress  Dowager,  which  was  arranged 
for  August  the  seventh: 

August  7,  Friday.  —  At  noon  I  started  for  the  palace  at  Peter- 

hoff  and,   strange  to  say,   side   by   side  with   the   Metropolitan 

Ambassador  of  Persia.     I  was  driven  in  the  Empress'  carriage  to 

her  villa  at  the  palace,  and  had  a  private  audience  with  her  of 

half  an  hour,  in  which  I  told  her  that  as  I  had  come  in  the  Name 

of  Christ,  as  the  bearer  of  a  petition  of  more  than  forty  million 

English-speaking    Christians   to   His   Majesty    the   Emperor,   so 

I  felt,  and  would  tell  those  from  whom  I  came,  that  I  had  been 

received    by   their   Majesties   in   the   Name   of  Christ.     And   I 

also  said  to  her,  as  I  had  said    previously  to  the  Emperor  and 

Empress,  when  the  first  news  of  the  massacres  of  the  Armenians 

came  to  us,   our  first  thought  was  that  the  days  of  Nero  had 

returned,  and  our  next  thought  was  that  we  must,  in  the  sight 

of  God,  do  all  in  our  power  to  help  our  brother  Christians  in 

the   far    East.     That   we   came   to   their   Majesties    for   aid    in 

Christ's    name,    and    that    the    feeling   was    growing    among    all 

Christian  people  that  this  Turkish  persecution  was  fast  growing 

to  be  a  question  that  not  only  affected  our  common  civilisation 

but  our  common  Christianity.     After  the  audience  was  over  I 

drove  to  the  Cathedral  of  St.   Peter  and  St.   Paul  for  my  own 

private  thanksgiving  service,  that  God  had   so  signally  blessed 

my  mission.     I  then  made  a  farewell  call  upon  the  Metropolitan 

of  St.  Petersburg,  and  after  that  upon  the  Bishop  Vicar  who  had 

received  me  so  kindly.     At  the  railway  station  I  found  a  large 

number  of  Greeks,  Russians  and  Armenians  awaiting  me,  with 

the  Metropolitan  of  Silesia.     They  presented  me  with   a  farewell 

Cross   in   memory   of  my   mission,    and   then,    after   an    earnest 

service  of  prayer,  in  which  the  Metropolitan   officiated  and  the 

before-mentioned    choir   took   part,    I    entered    the    train   which 

moved  off  as  the  choir  was  singing  a  parting  hymn.1 

1  Bishop's  Journal,  p.  40. 


1896]  OR  WALK  WITH   KINGS  201 

The  following  letter  relative  to  the  Mission  to  St. 
Petersburg  from  the  Hon.  Clifton  R.  Breckinridge, 
American  Minister  to  Russia  from  1894  to  1897  is  of 
value  and  interest: 

Sept.  6th,  ign.  —  It  is  with  much  pleasure  that  I  attempt  to 
recall  the  incidents  of  the  visit  of  the  Bishop  of  Washington  to 
St.  Petersburg  in  the  summer  of  1896.  The  Christian  world  was 
greatly  moved  at  that  time  by  the  repeated  menaces  of  the 
Armenians  by  the  Turks.  The  political  situation  was  such  as 
to  make  it  extremely  difficult  for  any  power  or  combination  of 
powers  to  intervene.  Jealousy  and  distrust  were  the  basis  of 
the  difficulty  of  intervention.  Under  these  conditions  it  was 
apparent  that  nothing  would  be  done,  unless  there  arose  a 
sentiment  among  the  people  of  the  different  nations  demanding 
that  action  be  taken  free  from  selfish  political  purposes.  Russia 
more  than  any  other  power  held  the  key  to  the  position.  She 
was  in  position  to  bring  influence  to  bear  most  effectively  if  the 
other  nations  would  trust  her;  but  she  had  most  to  fear  from 
the  other  powers  if  they  acted  other  than  in  perfect  good  faith. 
In  short  confidence  was  lacking.  Russia  feared  for  others  to 
move,  because  she  distrusted  them;  and  she  feared  to  move  be- 
cause she  knew  that  they  distrusted  her;  and  thus  the  poor 
Armenians  were  being  left  to  their  fate. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  Bishop  of  Washington  ap- 
peared at  St.  Petersburg,  quietly,  unheralded,  unannounced,  and 
accompanied  by  a  few  friends  who  came  simply  in  their  personal 
capacity.  The  Bishop  came  as  a  representative;  but  not  as  a 
political  or  official  representative.  He  came  from  the  United 
States  and  from  Great  Britain;  but  he  represented  the  govern- 
ment of  neither  country,  nor  had  he  consulted  with  the  officials 
of  either  country  before  coming.  He  came  as  a  man,  as  an 
ecclesiastic,  as  a  Christian,  representing  the  organised  Christian 
sentiment  of  the  two  nations,  pleading  and  contending  for  one 
brotherhood,  humanity  and  honor;  and,  without  touching 
political  questions,  seeking  to  emancipate  the  cause  of  human- 
ity from  any  complications  which  might  arise  from  distrust  of 
the  purposes  and  motives  of  the  peoples. 

Promptly  on  his  arrival  he  called  on  me;  this  call  evidently 
was  not  to  invoke  my  aid  as  the  diplomatic  representative  of 
the  United  States,  except  to  ask  me  to  assure  the  Foreign  Office 


202  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

that  he  was  not  there  in  a  political  capacity.  Although  he  bore  a 
communication  to  the  Emperor  from  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, he,  I  am  quite  sure,  never  called  at  the  British  Embassy. 

The  information  referred  to  I  promptly  conveyed  to  Prince 
Labanoff,  then  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  a  very  able  and 
enlightened  man.  I  paid  the  Prince  a  personal  visit  for  the 
purpose  stated.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  Bishop  that  a  man  like 
Labanoff  was  Minister  at  that  time,  for  had  he  been  narrow  or 
highly  suspicious  he  might  have  made  considerable  difficulty 
and  complications.  As  it  was,  the  Prince's  interest  was  great 
and  he  asked  me  a  number  of  questions  about  the  mission.  I 
told  him  I  knew  nothing  about  the  Bishop's  communication  for 
the  Emperor,  or  his  mission,  except  the  general  fads  stated,  and 
that  those  I  had  solely  upon  the  Bishop's  personal  statement,  in 
which  of  course,  I  had  perfect  confidence.  I  further  assured  the 
Prince  that  I  had  no  official  relations  with  the  matter  and  that 
the  Bishop  perfectly  knew  that  there  could  be  no  confidences 
which  I  could  not  freely  communicate  to  the  Foreign  Office. 
I  am  sure  that  a  basis  of  confidence  was  established  all  round. 
Yet  there  was  curiosity  to  say  the  least,  and  quite  a  period  of  de- 
lay ensued  before  an  audience  with  the  Emperor  was  secured. 

This  delay  was  not  without  its  pleasures,  benefits,  and  amus- 
ing features.  In  a  personal  way  I  established  relations  between 
the  Bishop  and  one  or  two  officials,  looking  to  a  meeting  with 
the  Emperor.  They  were  men  who  were  quite  sure  to  drop  the 
matter  as  soon  as  they  found  it  might  involve  some  responsi- 
bility; and  yet  they  had  to  be  recognised.  It  was  amusing  to 
see  the  promptness  and  grace  with  which  they  got  out  of  the 
business  as  soon  as  they  found  that  it  might  be  ticklish.  This 
did  not  mean  hostility,  however.  They  would  look  around, 
and  find  out.  They  had  been  appreciated,  and  if  they  did  not 
help  you  they  at  least  would  not  hurt  you  as  soon  as  the  mis- 
sion got  noised  abroad  a  little  and  was  found  not  to  be  odious 
or  distrusted  in  high  quarters. 

The  interval  was  further  filled  in  by  trips  to  nearby  places 
like  the  Imatra  Falls  in  Finland,  &c.  On  these  we  were  accom- 
panied by  sympathetic  Russian  gentlemen  and  conversation 
would  take  a  free  range.  The  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  I  believe 
he  was  called,  was  present  and  upon  a  mission  similar  to  the 
Bishop's.  He  was  a  venerable,  impressive  ecclesiastic,  wearing 
the   striking   robe   of  his   order,   but   the   Greek   Church   at   St. 


1896]  OR  WALK  WITH  KINGS  203 

Petersburg  was  giving  him  rather  the  cold  shoulder.  He  natu- 
rally fell  into  our  company.  There  was  also  a  Greek,  an  opponent 
of  the  Turks,  who  drifted  in  somehow,  and  he  seemed  inclined 
to  mysterious  methods.  Several  friendly  "conferences"  were 
arranged  by  outsiders  for  the  Bishop,  all  of  which  he  attended, 
and  I  went  with  him.  At  these  conferences  paper  and  pencils 
would  be  provided  for  sentiments,  motions  or  resolutions;  but 
so  far  as  I  can  recall  no  record  was  ever  made  except  a  comic 
picture  or  something  of  that  sort;  and  nothing  of  serious  import 
about  the  business  in  hand  was  ever  spoken,  for  the  simple  reason 
if  no  other,  that  nothing  of  an  objectionable  nature  was  known 
or  entertained.  The  Bishop  was  kind,  agreeable  and  sympa- 
thetic with  all.  He  entered  heartily  into  all  the  little  diversions, 
meeting  everything  with  frankness  and  tad:,  making  no  com- 
plaints, manifesting  no  curiosity,  and  biding  his  time  and  the 
convenience  of  the  Russians.  Thus  time  passed  and  confidence 
matured  until  say  in  a  couple  of  weeks  or  such  a  matter  the 
Bishop  received  notice  of  an  appointment  to  meet  the  Emperor. 

The  Emperor  was  at  one  of  the  suburban  palaces.  The  Bishop 
never  spoke  to  me  of  the  meeting,  except  to  say  that  the  Em- 
peror was  very  gracious  and  that  his  manners  were  simple  and 
sincere.  A  young  Russian  who  accompanied  the  Bishop  to  the 
entrance  of  the  audience  chamber  said,  that  as  a  chamberlain 
was  conducting  him  to  the  chamber  they  met  Prince  Labanoff 
coming  out.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this  was  all  pre- 
arranged. "You  should  have  seen  the  Prince  and  the  Bishop," 
said  our  young  friend.  "The  Prince  came  forward  with  a  smile 
as  sweet  as  only  he  can  smile.  'Good  morning,  Bishop/  said  he. 
'What  have  you  there?'  extending  his  hand  to  the  paper  the 
Bishop  carried.  The  Bishop  smiled  sweetly,  so  sweetly!  in  return, 
passed  his  paper  to  his  left  hand  and  said,  'Oh!  it  is  only  a  little 
paper  for  the  Emperor/  and  gave  the  Prince  a  hearty  shake  of 
the  hand.  LabanofF  did  so  want  a  little  peep.  But  he  saw 
he  couldn't  get  it.  He  had  met  his  match  and  he  seemed  to 
enjoy  it." 

The  contents  of  the  communication  to  the  Emperor  I  know 
no  more  now  than  I  did  then.  Of  course  Labanoff  learned  it  all 
very  soon;  but  he  didn't  learn  it  just  the  way  he  seemed  to 
most  prefer.  He  learned  it  perhaps  in  the  way  best  for  the 
cause  the  Bishop  represented.  The  matter  was  one  that,  in  my 
position,  I  could  not  enquire  into  or  actively  interest  myself  in; 


2o4  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

but  I  have  always  believed  that  it  was  a  turning  point  in  Russian 
belief  and  policy  in  Armenian  and  Turkish  affairs.  It  gave 
Russia  a  larger  and  more  warm  view;  and  it  came  from  a  source 
sufficiently  broad  to  permit  pretty  good  ground  for  generaliza- 
tion, and  from  a  source  that  was  free  from  any  taint  of  decep- 
tion or  selfishness.  Thus,  in  my  opinion,  the  Bishop,  with  great 
tact,  ability  and  high  purpose  rendered  an  eminent  service  to 
humanity. 

Canon  Scott  Holland  adds  his  memories  of  Bishop 
Satterlee's  "wonderful  adventure  in  Russia":  It  was  very 
exciting  at  the  time  and  also  had  a  good  deal  of  fun  in  it. 

It  came  out  of  a  move  that  our  English  Bishops,  with  the 
American,  should  approach  the  Czar  personally  on  behalf  of 
Armenia.  The  Archbishop  was  to  write  the  Address,  etc. 
But  all  this  was  bowled  over  by  Bishop  Creighton,  who  had 
just  returned  from  Russia  and  told  us  that  it  was  quite  fatal 
to  move  from  the  English  side.  Everything  that  came  from 
England  would  be  regarded  as  having  a  political  purpose; 
it  would  go  to  the  Czar  through  the  F.  O.  and  would  be  at 
once  treated  with  the  utmost  suspicion.  This  crushed  us  for 
the  moment,  and  then  we  all  cried  at  once,  "Why  not  the 
American  Bishops  only?  they  will  be  free  from  all  suspicion." 
And  we  found  that  Bishop  Potter  of  New  York  was  in  town, 
and  I  was  sent  off  in  a  hansom  to  implore  him  to  undertake 
it.  He  was  very  cordial  and  said  at  once,  "Satterlee  can  go, 
he  is  close  at  hand."  And  I  said,  "Where?"  and  he  said, 
"Vienna,"  which  he  seemed  to  think  was  close  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. However,  he  most  kindly  forwarded  our  appeal,  and 
added  his  own  name  and  authorized  the  Bishop  to  go  on  behalf 
of  the  American  Bench.  He  set  off  most  gallantly,  and  spent, 
I  think,  three  weeks  in  St.  Petersburg  in  a  dogged  attempt 
to  get  in.  He  found  a  friendly  Russian  Count,  whose  name 
I  have  forgotten  and  who  was  a  great  friend  of  the  Emperor's. 
In  the  interval,  he  interviewed  Father  John  and  had  his  prayers 
and  blessings.  He  stuck  to  it  till  he  had  a  promise  of  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  the  Czar  and  the  Czarina.  It  was  dis- 
covered that  he  must  go  in  full  Episcopal  Robes,  and,  having 
none,  he  had  them  made  on  the  spot.  We  trembled  to  think 
what   that   Petersburg  tailor  had   made  of  it.     He  had   a  full 


1896]  OR  WALK  WITH  KINGS  205 

talk,  —  I  think  something  like  an  hour,  —  the  Empress  joining 
in.  He  appealed  simply  to  the  Emperor's  own  Christian  heart, 
and  said  that  we  all  trusted  him,  and  were  ready  to  see  him 
take  any  action  to  save  these  poor  Armenian  folk.  It  was 
taken  very  well,  and  the  whole  thing  ended  greatly  to  Satterlee's 
joy;  I  think  he  went  to  a  Russian  Church  and  had  some  thanks- 
givings. He  came  back  to  London  in  the  depths  of  the  summer 
holidays.  We  were  horrified  at  a  wire  from  him,  hoping  to 
report  his  mission,  but  there  was  nobody  on  earth  in  London 
to  receive  him.  But  as  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  and  myself 
were  at  Hawarden,  we  got  the  G.  O.  M.  to  let  us  wire  him 
down  there,  and  he  came  with  a  full  heart  brimming  over  with 
what  he  had  done.  But  to  our  great  distress  nothing  would 
induce  Mr.  Gladstone  to  take  any  interest:  he  was  obstinately 
set  against  Russia,  and  entirely  refused  to  show  any  sympathy 
or  hope.  We  employed  ourselves  in  disguising  this  as  well  as 
we  could  from  the  dear  Bishop,  who  was  thrilled  with  all  he 
had  said  and  seen.  He  had  done  everything  which  a  man  could 
do,  and  I  hope  it  was  worth  while  to  have  had,  at  least  once, 
brought  an  appeal  from  America,  in  the  name  of  Christianity 
straight  to  the  Emperor's  soul.  But  I  can't  say  that  I  think 
anything  that  I  know  of  practically  followed.  We  never  heard 
of  it  again.  Can  we  hope  that  the  admirable  way  in  which  of 
late  years  Russia  has  governed  its  own  Armenians  was  at  all 
the  fruit? 

An  authoritative  statement  of  the  Bishop's  mission  to 
the  Czar  was  forced  from  him  contrary  to  his  wishes. 
Great  secrecy  had  been  preserved  both  before  and  after 
the  presentation  of  the  petition,  lest  publicity  should 
cause  the  purely  religious  character  of  the  petition  to  be 
questioned  and  so  weaken  its  effect.  But  the  correspond- 
ent of  a  Chicago  newspaper  got  hold  of  the  facts  and 
violated  a  pledge  of  secrecy  by  cabling  them  to  her 
paper.  Bishop  Satterlee  and  his  English  advisers  then 
decided  that  the  safest  course  left  open  was  to  publish 
the  story. 

Just  what  the  value  of  the  mission  was  cannot  be 
measured.  But  it  goes  down  in  history  as  one  of  those 
instinctive    protests    against    a   great   wrong   that    are    an 


2o6  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

honor  to  those  who  utter  them,  in  that  they  powerfully 
confront  men  in  power  with  the  responsibility  that  be- 
longs to  them  by  virtue  of  their  office  and  opportunity. 
The  last  echo  of  the  Bishop's  mission  we  find  in  con- 
nection  with    the    admission    of   Armenian    refugees    into 
America,  in  the  fall  succeeding  his  return.     Fleeing  from 
further  persecution  a  number  of  these  refugees,  including 
women  and  children,  took  passage  for  the  country  which 
almost   from   the   date   of  its   discovery   had   become   an 
asylum    for   the    religiously   oppressed.     Upon    arrival   in 
New    York    harbor    the    Commissioner    of    Immigration 
refused  their  admission  without  further  certification  as  to 
their  character.     The  tyranny  that  drove  them  from  the 
home    of    their    fathers    was    sufficient    to    explain    their 
destitution  and  squalor.     Prince  Bebontoff,  representative 
of   the    Catholicos,  or  the  Supreme    Patriarch  of   all  the 
Armenians,    getting  word   of  the   dilemma   in  which   his 
people  had   been   placed,   turned   to   Bishop   Satterlee   as 
their  logical  champion.     A  cable  was  dispatched  testify- 
ing to  their  moral  character,  which  took   the  Bishop  to 
President   McKinley,  and   in   the  afternoon   of  the   same 
day  (October  31)  he  proceeded  to  New  York  to  see  the 
anxious    refugees    released    from    detention    on    the     'Ob- 
dam."     "It   was    a   relief  to    all    sympathizers   with    our 
suffering  fellow  Christians  in  the  East,  that  these  refugees 
with  their  families  were  allowed  to  land  on  our  shores. "  * 

1  Bishop's  Journal,  1 896-1 897. 


CHAPTER  XI 

RES    SEVERN 
I 896-I 898 

The  tumult  and  the  shouting  dies  — 

The  captains  and  the  kings  depart  — 
Still  stands  Thine  ancient  sacrifice, 

An  humble  and  a  contrite  heart. 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 
Lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget! 

RUDYARD   KIPLING 

BISHOP  SATTERLEE'S  sojourn  abroad,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  far  from  being  a  respite  from  adlive  re- 
sponsibility. It  would  have  been  difficult  to  have 
found  a  more  anxious  errand  than  that  which  occupied 
much  of  his  vacation  time.  But  his  superb  physique  was 
built  for  burden  bearing,  and  it  was  not  until  1904,  after 
the  only  grave  illness  of  his  life  prior  to  that  which  caused 
his  death,  that  he  was  obliged  to  heed  the  behests  of  the 
body.  Then,  too,  as  in  the  case  of  most  big  natures,  he 
found  recreation  in  the  variety  of  work  which  claimed  his 
attention.  He  had  early  acquired  that  blessed  faculty 
of  excluding,  for  the  time  being,  all  other  interests  except 
the  duty  of  the  moment.  His  intensity  was  at  once  ex- 
hausting and  reviving.  He  gave  to  his  work  all  that 
there  was  in  him  to  give,  and  in  return  received  from 
each  separate  task  all  the  freshness,  interest  and  momen- 
tum it  held  in  its  gift.  It  would  be  unfair  to  say  that 
there  was  no  distinction  between  great  and  small  in  his 
estimate  of  duties.  That  would  be  to  impugn  his  sense 
of  proportion  and  to  accuse  him  of  quixotry.  On  the 
other  hand  his  largeness  of  soul  exalted  little  things  and 
added  dignity  to  them.  He  could  move  from  the  court 
of  kings  and  the  transaction  of  world  affairs  to  the 
humble  sphere  of  rural  or  negro  work  without  a  sense  of 


208  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

being  let  down  or  a  depreciation  of  true  values.  He 
came  back  from  intercourse  with  royalty  and  celebrities, 
such  as  Gladstone  whom  he  visited  at  Hawarden,  to  the 
routine  work  of  his  diocese,  with  the  same  readiness  and 
eagerness  with  which  he  had  gone  from  the  quiet  of  a 
holiday  to  the  excitement  of  a  mission. 

At  the  Sesqui-Centennial  Anniversary  of  Princeton 
University,  which  was  celebrated  on  October  22  of  this 
year,  he  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  D.D.  A  month 
later  we  find  him  (November  19)  delivering  the  opening 
address  of  the  Church  Congress  in  Norfolk,  Va.,  when 
he  took  for  his  subject  his  favorite  topic  —  "Character- 
istics of  New  Testament  Churchmanship.,, 

The  anniversary  of  his  election  (December  6)  was 
marked  by  hisjformally  entering  upon  a  concordat  (signed 
November  29)  with  St.  Mark's  Church,  Washington,  by 
the  terms  of  which  it  became  the  pro-Cathedral.  The 
Bishop  felt  that,  until  such  time  as  the  Cathedral  was 
built,  it  was  of  importance  that  he  should  have  a  church 
for  the  performance  of  episcopal  acts,  and  where  he  could 
have  a  pulpit  at  his  disposal.  To  him  the  idea  of  a 
Cathedral  was  not  based  upon  tradition  but  necessity, 
for  the  more  expeditious  and  successful  performance  of 
the  duties  of  his  office.  His  association  with  St.  Mark's 
and  the  Rev.  W.  L.  DeVries,  Ph.D.,  who  was  instituted 
as  rector  on  this  same  occasion,  was  one  of  the  happiest 
relationships  of  his  episcopate.  The  concordat  was 
terminated  after  five  years,  because  of  an  exigency  that 
made  it  desirable  to  move  the  Bishop's  Chair  to  another 
church.  The  pro-Cathedral  began  with  a  staff  of  three 
clergy  —  the  Rev.  Dr.  De  Vries,  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Hayes, 
afterwards  and  until  his  death  Professor  of  Apologetics 
in  the  General  Theological  Seminary,  and  the  Rev.  P. 
M.  Rhinelander,  one  of  his  Calvary  boys,  now  Bishop  of 
Pennsylvania.  "Dr.  Walpole x  told  me  that  these  are 
the  three  most  brilliant  minds,  or  rather  most  intellectual 

1  Formerly  Professor  of  Dogmatic  Theology  in  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary, now  Bishop  of  Edinburgh. 


1898]  RES1  SEVERN  209 

men  who  have  been  at  the  Seminary  in  the  last  decade, 
and  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  we  all  have  the  same 
ideal  about  New  Testament  Churchmanship,  and  the 
work  that  is  before  us."  1  The  intimacy  of  the  relation- 
ship between  the  Bishop  and  these  young  clergy  is 
brought  out  in  this  letter  to  Dr.  De  Vries: 

TO   DR.   DE  VRIES 

Aug.  27,  1898.  —  I  have  just  received  your  answer  to  my 
letter,  and  I  want  to  reply  at  once  for  I  am  pained  that  I  have 
pained  you.  You  have  taken  my  words  too  seriously  or  rather, 
not  exactly  in  the  same  way  in  which  they  were  written.  You 
must  trust  me  just  as  implicitly,  unreservedly  as  I  trust  you. 
I  try  to  be  just  as  loyal  to  you  and  Hayes  and  Rhinelander  as  I 
am  sure  you  all  are  to  me.  I  make  no  difference  between  you, 
and  I  speak  to  you  each  one  just  as  unreservedly  as  I  do  to 
Churchill.  Of  course,  I  feel  deeply,  gratefully  your  loyalty  to 
me  as  a  father-in-God.  And  it  is  because  I  want  to  be  a  real 
father-in-God  to  you  that  I  sometimes  speak  very  plainly  my 
innermost  thoughts  about  your  faults.  It  is  for  your  own  good 
and  because  I  love  you  so  truly.  I  am  not  going  to  say  a  word 
more  on  this  subject  just  now,  because  written  words  somehow 
seem  so  different  from  spoken  words.  Only,  my  dear  William, 
be  sure  that  you  and  I  understand  one  another  perfectly,  and 
that  if  we  ever  do  have  a  talk  upon  this  subjecl:  it  will  be  the 
reverse  of  painful.  It  will  be  affectionately  confidential  on  both 
sides  like  all  our  previous  talks. 

With  such  a  staff  St.  Mark's  was  bound  to  move  from 
strength  to  strength. 

On  December  26  he  writes  to  Mrs.  Pyne: 

When  I  forget  the  past  and  look  forward  to  the  future,  I  feel 
that  all  thought  of  personal  loneliness  should  give  place  to  those 
of  God's  work.  A  year  ago  to-day  I  was  hesitating  whether  I 
ought  to  accept  the  bishopric  of  Washington,  and  now,  I  am 
looking  back  upon  the  most  valuable  year  of  my  whole  earthly 
experience.  The  work  and  opportunities  of  this  diocese  surpass 
all  I  had  anticipated  or  even  dreamed  of. 

1  From  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Pyne. 


2I0  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

His  journal  shows  that  he  was  already  actively  inter- 
ested in  civic  affairs.  The  Central  Relief  Committee 
and  the  Sanitary  Improvement  Association  secure  his 
interest  and  aid.  We  find  him  inspecting  Washington 
alleys  in  company  with  the  Surgeon-General  of  the 
Army  (General  Sternberg). 

Soon  after  his  return  from  abroad  he  began  those  per- 
sonal instructions  to  the  colored  candidates  for  the  Minis- 
try at  King  Hall,  which  ceased  only  when  King  Hall  was 
closed  toward  the  end  of  his  life.  His  contribution  toward 
the  negro  problem  is  dealt  with  in  another  chapter.  But 
let  it  be  said  here  that,  though  other  men  may  reach  a 
more  conspicuous  achievement  in  relation  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  national  responsibility,  none  will  ever  carry 
to  it  a  purer  motive  or  more  unbroken  faithfulness. 

It  was  in  1896  that  the  famous  Bull  on  the  validity  of 
Anglican  Orders,  known  as  Apostolic  a  Curce,  was  published 
by  Pope  Leo  XIII.  The  Responsio  of  the  Archbishops  of 
Canterbury  and  York,  addressed  to  the  universal  episco- 
pate, met  with  Bishop  Satterlee's  unqualified  endorsement. 
He  felt  that  the  Bull  was  "an  acl:  of  intrusion  upon  the 
home  life  of  our  national  churches  of  England  and 
America."  He  suggests  to  "our  people,  and  especially 
and  most  earnestly  to  our  clergy,  a  careful  and  systematic 
study  of  the  historic  points  in  the  Pope's  letter,  Apos- 
tolic a  Cures,  and,  also  in  the  pamphlet  entitled,  'A 
Last  Word  on  Anglican  Ordinations/  by  the  Rev. 
Salvadore  Brandi,  'Set  Forth  With  a  Special  Brief  from 
the  Supreme  Pontiff  Approving  the  Work;'  comparing 
statements  of  each  with  the  records  of  the  Early  Church, 
and  of  Roman  Ordinations  themselves,  before  the  Eleventh 
Century.  After  these  have  been  mastered,  I  commend 
to  your  perusal  the  answer  to  the  Papal  Bull  recently  set 
forth  by  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York. 
Note  the  fad,  that  although  the  latter  is  a  document  of 
this  Nineteenth  Century  it  has  the  same  genuine  ring  of 
truthfulness  and  a  true  Apostolic  spirit,  that  sounds  so 
clearly   in   the   Epistles   of  the   New  Testament.     It   is, 


1898]  RES  SEVERN  211 

perhaps,  not  too  much  to  say,  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome, 
by  this  last  act,  has  isolated  the  Papacy  and  cut  it  off 
from  all  participation  in  the  coming  reunion  of  Christen- 
dom. Furthermore,  instead  of  accomplishing  his  own 
purpose,  his  letter  will  serve,  on  the  contrary,  to  create 
a  more  general  recognition  and  better  understanding  of 
the  historic  character  of  the  Anglican  Communion. "  x 

Just  before  sailing  for  England  to  attend  the  Lambeth 
Conference  (June  9,  1897)  his  alma  mater,  Columbia 
University,  conferred  upon  Bishop  Satterlee  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  The  Conference  convened  on 
June  30  and  closed  on  August  2.  This  was  the  only 
Lambeth  Conference  which  Bishop  Satterlee  attended. 
His  death  happened  on  the  eve  of  the  next  Conference, 
when  his  mind  and  prayers  were  full  of  it. 

The  Lambeth  Conference  of  1897  was  especially 
notable  as  commemorating  the  landing  of  St.  Augustine 
of  Canterbury  at  Ebbsfleet  in  597.  Pilgrimages  were 
made  to  St.  Augustine's  landing  place  and  to  Glaston- 
bury, the  shrine  of  the  ancient  British  Church.  In 
addition  to  the  ecclesiastical  celebration,  England  was  in 
gala  attire  to  do  honor  to  Queen  Victoria  on  the  sixtieth 
anniversary  of  her  reign.  Great  aspirations  were  soaring 
for  Church  and  Empire.  The  conclusion  of  the  Jubilee 
ushered  in  the  beginning  of  the  Conference.  Those  who 
gathered  in  Westminster  Abbey  on  Sunday  afternoon, 
July  4,  will  never  forget  the  earnest  sermon  of  the  Bishop 
of  London  (Dr.  Creighton)  with  its  prophetic  warnings 
culminating  in  the  dramatic  words  of  Kipling's  "Reces- 
sional" which  had  just  been  written. 

The  dominating  figure  at  the  Conference  was  its 
presiding  officer  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Dr. 
Temple).  His  rugged  manhood  was  without  superfluous 
embellishments,  and  if  the  character  for  justice,  given 
him  by  the  schoolboys  of  Rugby  many  years  before 
when  he  was  Headmaster,  had  not  been  sustained  in 
life,   his   mode   of  presiding   might   have   earned   him   un- 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1897,  p.  57. 


212  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

complimentary  criticism.  But  his  conscious  and  uncon- 
scious humor,  undimmed  by  his  seventy-six  years,  added 
to  his  rough  fairness,  left  him  facile  princeps  among  his 
brethren.  The  air  was  full  of  delicious  stories  of  his 
hospitality,  his  brusquerie  and  his  dry  sayings.  All  the 
while  he  was  exercising  that  steady  spiritual  influence 
which  a  strong  character  radiates.  No  one  left  without 
having  received  inspiration  from  contact  with  this 
"granite"  Cornishman. 

The  whole  temper  of  the  Conference  was  Augustinian 
in  the  sense  of  missionary.  Bishop  Satterlee  was  deeply 
stirred  by  it,  while  himself  contributing  to  it. 

The  spiritual  climax  of  the  Conference  was  not  reached  until 
the  day  before  final  adjournment.  When  we  came  to  that  part 
of  the  Encyclical  which  related  to  foreign  missions,  and  when,  in 
answer  to  some  objections  regarding  over-statement,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  spake  out  his  deep  convictions  regarding 
this  subject,  his  words  rang  out  like  an  echo  of  New  Testament 
times.  When,  in  clarion  tones,  he  proclaimed  that,  in  his  judg- 
ment, the  primary  commission  of  Christ  to  His  Church  was, 
'Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  whole  crea- 
tion" (R.  V.);  that  our  Church,  notwithstanding  all  she  had 
done  in  the  past,  through  her  foreign  and  domestic  missionary 
societies,  had  not,  as  yet,  begun  to  discharge  the  responsibility 
that  the  Lord  had  laid  upon  her,  and  that  she  was  still  far  below 
the  level  of  New  Testament  energy,  it  became  evident  at  once 
that  he  had  expressed  the  dominant  thought  in  every  breast. 

The  experiences  of  that  hour  were  bewildering  in  their  fulness. 
It  was  as  though  a  sudden  flash  of  light  had  come  revealing  the 
thoughts  of  all  hearts.  It  was  nothing  less  than  a  revelation  of 
the  supreme  aim  of  the  whole  Anglican  Communion:  and  in  the 
glow  of  the  moment,  bishops  from  different  parts  of  the  world 
arose  and  said  that  if  they  had  come  from  their  far  distant 
dioceses  for  nothing  else,  the  inspiration  of  this  one  afternoon 
would  repay  them  for  their  journey  to  Lambeth.1 

Bishop    Satterlee   was   one   of  the   "invited    speakers' 
on  the  "Office  of  the  Church  with   Respect  to  Industrial 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1898,  pp.  27,  28. 


1898]  RES  SEVERN  213 

Problems."  The  Bishop  of  Minnesota  (Dr.  Whipple) 
gave  his  utterance  a  high  place:  "One  of  the  most  re- 
markable speeches  of  the  Conference  was  made  by  the 
Bishop  of  Washington,  Dr.  Satterlee,  on  the  social 
problems  connected  with  the  employer  and  the  employed, 
the  key  note  of  which  was  that  men  do  not  need  charity: 
they  need  what  the  Gospel  of  Christ  gives  them,  brother- 
hood as  the  children  of  one  Father.'3  The  place  he 
occupied  at  the  Conference  and  the  impression  he  made 
are  best  described  in  the  following  letter  from  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  (Dr.  Davidson,  then  Bishop  of 
Winchester  and  one  of  the  Episcopal  Secretaries  of  the 
Conference)  to  Mrs.  Rhinelander: 

FROM  THE  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CANTERBURY 

You  ask  me  for  any  reminiscences  of  your  father's  place  and 
part  in  the  Lambeth  Conference  of  1897.  No  one  certainly 
who  took  part  in  that  memorable  gathering  can  fail  to  carry 
"pointed  in  his  remembrance M  the  eager  and  uplifting  words, 
the  commanding  presence  and  mien,  the  deep  and  obvious  ear- 
nestness of  the  leader  who  threw  himself  with  purpose  so  whole- 
hearted into  the  advocacy  of  what  came  afterwards  to  be  known 
as  the  "Lambeth  Quadrilateral,"  a  new  basis  of  possible  union 
and  co-operation  for  those  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
sincerity.  We  learn  now  that  opinions  differ  as  to  the  adequacy 
or  the  permanence  of  those  proposals,  but  there  will  I  think  be 
no  difference  of  opinion  or  of  recollection  as  to  the  power,  we 
ought  perhaps  to  say  the  glamour,  of  his  words,  both  on  com- 
mittees and  in  Conference.  You  will  know  better  than  others 
how  the  thought  abode  with  him  in  after  years,  and  how  it  even 
found  utterance  in  the  solid  stones  of  the  great  Cathedral  which 
he  planned. 

Some  of  us  had  known  him  fairly  well  before  that  year  of  Con- 
ference. We  had  not  forgotten — we  have  not  forgotten  now  — 
the  memorable  visit  to  St.  Petersburg,  a  visit,  or  rather  a  self- 
imposed  mission,  carried  into  effect  with  characteristic  thorough- 
ness and  perseverance  in  face  of  difficulties  and  discouragements 
which  would  have  daunted,  and  had  daunted,  other  men. 

His  letters  too,  aglow  sometimes  with  Apostolic  fervour,  had 
been  frequent  —  some  of  them  will  I  hope  find  a  place   in  your 


2i4  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

volume,  and  it  is  a  delight  to  us  who  saw  too  little  of  him  in 
after  days,  to  recall  the  occasions,  down  to  the  very  end  of  his 
life,  when  he  allowed  us  to  share,  in  that  way,  his  splendid  visions 
for  the  upbuilding  and  the  work  of  the  great  Cathedral  with 
which,  as  the  centuries  run  on,  his  name  will  always  be  asso- 
ciated. To  few  men  besides  himself  would  it  have  occurred  to 
give  expression,  in  adhial  tangible  stones,  to  the  imperishable 
fads  of  our  present-day  associations  with  the  foundation  shrines 
of  the  Church's  story.  " Sentiment"  if  you  will,  but  the  kind  of 
sentiment  which  in  hands  or  brains  like  his,  become  a  teaching 
force  of  quite  immeasurable  strength.  Among  the  unforgettable 
days  in  my  own  life,  a  notable  place  belongs  to  that  Sunday 
afternoon  in  1904,  when  in  the  presence  of  a  great  multitude,  I 
was  allowed  to  stand  beside  him,  and  to  join  my  prayers  with 
his  upon  that  holy  ground.  I  have  not  known  many  men  of 
whom  so  truly  as  of  your  father  it  can  be  said,  that  personal 
fellowship  with  him  has  the  power  to  make  one  in  all  sincerity, 
"thank  God  and  take  courage." 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  England  he  met  Prince 
Andronikoff,  a  Russian  nobleman,  who  had  aided  him 
in  his  mission  to  the  Czar.  Among  the  Bishop's  me- 
mentoes of  the  Conference  is  a  pencilled  note  reading: 

Tour  Grace:  Will  you  come  if  you  please  with  Mrs.  Satterlee 
to  me  at  y\  o'clock.  We  shall  go  to  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Isaak. 
I  am  not  well  these  days. 

Quite  yours, 

M.   M.    ANDRONIKOFF. 

Also  a  devout  pamphlet  from  his  pen,  in  Russian, 
entitled  "Thoughts  of  a  Christian  before  Confession,'5 
bearing  the  inscription  "To  my  dear  Bishop  of  Washing- 
ton with  the  hope  that  he  won't  forget  the  author  in  his 
prayers,  London,  16th  July,  1897.  Prince  Michael  Andro- 
nikoff." 

The  following  letters  have  to  do  with  the  Conference: 

TO   DR.    DE    VRIES 

Lambeth  Palace,  S.  E.  July  u,  1897.  —  I  am  writing  on  one 
of  the  Sunday  intervals  of  the  Conference.     The  work  is  harder 


1898]  RES  SEVERN  215 

than  I  anticipated  and  I  do  not  know  that  we  shall  have  a  day's 
rest.  Indeed  I  have  had  to  cancel  all  engagements  out  of  town 
to  attend  committee  meetings.  198  Bishops  are  present  and  we 
are  now  engaged  in  committee  work.  I  am  on  three.  1.  Indus- 
trial Problems,  2.  International  Arbitration,  3.  Sisterhoods.  The 
opening  services  were  very  impressive,  especially  the  one  at 
Canterbury  Cathedral.  We  have  been  staying  with  the  Bishop 
of  Rochester,  and  if  he  comes  to  Washington  in  Ocl:.  he  will 
preach  for  us  in  St.  Mark's,  and  he  and  Gore  will  stay  with  me. 
Phil  has  acted  as  my  chaplain  twice  and  has  been  getting  infor- 
mation for  me  regarding  Oxford  House,  Mansfield  House,  Toyn- 
bee  Hall  etc.  etc.  I  think  he  has  been  doing  very  good  work 
and  am  glad  he  came  to  do  it. 

I,  too,  have  found  my  visit  very  fruitful  and  educational.  The 
Colonial  Bishops  I  find  are  quite  as  closely  in  sympathy  with  us 
Americans  as  with  the  English,  and  are  quite  as  independent. 
I  shall  tell  you  some  of  the  details  when  I  see  you.  We  don't 
lose  much  time  and  I  find  it  very  hard  to  make  space  for  letter 
writing. 

We  have  been  at  several  garden  parties  and  are  going  to  more. 
Bishop  of  London's,  Winchester's,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury's 
etc.  On  Tuesday  next  the  Conference  will  have  an  audience 
with  the  Queen  at  Windsor,  and  last  week  the  Lord  Mayor  gave 
us  all  a  dinner  —  500  guests.  It  was  a  unique  occasion.  The 
Bishops  are  preaching  at  all  the  Churches  and  Cathedrals  [he 
himself  preached  at  St.  Saviour's,  Southwark  and  at  Canterbury] 
and  it  seems  very  strange  to  see  so  many  American  faces. 
Tonight  Bishop  Walker  preached  at  Westminster  Abbey  and 
we  have  just  returned  from  the  service. 

TO   MRS.    PYNE 

London,  Aug.  10,  '97.  —  The  Lambeth  Conference  is  over  and 
I  have  sent  you  by  mail  a  copy  of  the  Encyclical  and  Reports 
as  I  know  you  will  enjoy  them.  I  am  so  glad  that  I  came,  for 
the  Conference  has  been  an  education  to  me  and  to  us  all.  It 
gives  one  an  overwhelming  consciousness  of  the  Unity  and 
growth  of  the  Anglican  Communion  to  meet  bishops  from  all 
parts  of  the  world;  to  know  not  only  their  faces  and  voices,  but 
their  very  thoughts  and  to  feel  that  they  will  go  back  to  labour 
in  all  parts  of  the  world  with  the  same  aims  and  aspirations  that 
we  in  America  cherish  so  earnestly.      I  lie  colonial  bishops  I  find 


216  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

are  as  much  in  sympathy  with  us  as  with  the  English  Bishops: 
and  we  need  not  fear  that  our  Americans  will  be  Anglicised: 
they  may  be  to  a  degree,  but  not  more  than  the  English  Bishops 
are  becoming  Americanized,  and  colonialized,  the  influences 
work  both  ways. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  is  a  great  man,  and  a  most 
spiritual  man;  under  his  presidency  the  Conference  became 
more  and  more  earnest  as  day  followed  day  until  the  afternoon 
before  we  adjourned.  The  subject  then  was  Foreign  Missions 
and  Archbishop  Temple  rose  to  a  New  Testament  level  when 
he  declared  that  the  Church  had  not,  for  centuries,  realized  her 
God-given  responsibility  regarding  missions.  One  colonial  bishop 
after  another  rose,  —  when  he  delivered  his  ringing,  Apostolic 
message,  —  and  said  that  if  they  had  come  to  the  Conference 
for  nothing  else,  that  afternoon  would  repay  them;  and  that 
they  would  go  back  to  their  missionary  work  remembering  the 
Archbishop's  words  to  the  end  of  their  days. 

The  English  have  been  most  kind  to  all  our  bishops.  I  have 
never  met  with  more  profuse  and  cordial  hospitality.  Last 
Sunday  Mrs.  Satterlee,  Constance  and  myself  spent  at  Farn- 
ham  Castle  with  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  and  his  wife,  (you 
know  he  married  the  daughter  of  Archbishop  Tait)  and  Mrs. 
Benson,  the  widow  of  the  last  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  was 
staying  there.  After  Archbishop  Tait's  death,  Archbishop  Ben- 
son took  Davidson  for  his  own  chaplain,  and  Mrs.  Benson  asked 
Miss  Tait  to  make  her  future  home  in  Lambeth,  which  she  did 
for  over  ten  years. 

Perhaps  it  will  interest  you  to  know  that  the  Re&or  of  Tuxedo 
was  with  me  at  the  last  great  service  of  the  Conference. 

Phil  Rhinelander  has  acted  as  my  chaplain  up  to  the  adjourn- 
ment. He  went  with  me  to  Canterbury  and  elsewhere,  but  had 
to  leave  for  France  the  end  of  July.  So  Grenville  Merrill  took 
his  place  there.  He  and  his  mother  were  staying  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  Half  Moon  St.,  and  we  saw  a  great  deal  of  them  in 
the  short  time  they  were  here.  Then  Merrill  and  I  went  down 
to  Glastonbury  together,  where  they  had  a  concluding  service  to 
commemorate  the  old  British  church.  The  opening  service  was 
at  Canterbury  or  rather  Ebbsfleet  where  St.  Augustine  the 
Bishop  to  the  Saxon  or  English  church  first  landed.  The 
Glastonbury  service  was  unique,  there  were  over  one  hundred 
bishops    and    seven    hundred    clergy   all    in    surplices,   marching 


1898]  RES   SEVERN  217 

through  the  quiet  village  street  to  the  Abbey,  and  then  we  all 
entered  the  Abbey  park,  went  up  the  ruined  aisle  of  the  Abbey, 
and,  seated  on  chairs  upon  the  grassy  sward,  with  the  dismantled 
Early  English  wall  around  us,  we  held  the  greatest  service  that 
even  Glastonbury  in  its  palmiest  days  ever  witnessed.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  picturesque  scene;  it  was  truly  prophetic  of  the 
growth  of  the  Anglican  church. 

Now,  once  more,  a  change  has  come,  and  Mrs.  Benson  and 
Miss  Tait  are  going  to  live  together  at  Winchester,  they  are  at 
present  staying  with  the  Davidsons  for  several  months.  Indeed, 
it  is  one  of  the  rarest  instances  of  hallowed  Christian  friendship 
I  have  ever  seen.  And  our  visit  to  Farnham  Castle  has  shown 
us  what  lives  of  naturalness  and  simplicity  and  Christian  devo- 
tion the  leaders  of  the  Church  of  England  are  really  living. 
Every  one  says  that  if  the  Queen  outlives  Dr.  Temple,  the 
Bishop  of  Winchester  will  be  the  next  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
I  thought  he  was  an  opportunist,  but  I  find  him  one  of  the  most 
humble  minded  of  all  the  English  bishops. 

A  fortnight  has  not  passed  since  the  Conference  adjourned, 
yet  already  two  of  the  bishops  who  were  with  us  day  by  day, 
have  been  called  from  the  church  below  to  the  church  trium- 
phant. Both  were  holy  men,  —  Bickersteth  of  Japan,  and 
Walsham  How  of  Wakefield;  truly  "in  the  midst  of  life  we  are 
in  death." 

An  ecclesiastical  trial  is  the  least  desirable  of  undesir- 
able experiences  for  a  diocesan.  Bishop  Satterlee  had 
to  face  this  responsibility  in  a  complicated  form.  Not 
only  was  the  case  itself  difficult  and  intricate,  but  the 
canon  law  of  the  Church  was  at  that  time  so  inadequate, 
that  an  accused  man  had  no  guarantee  of  receiving 
substantial  justice.  The  trial,  in  this  instance,  attracted 
more  than  local  interest  on  account  of  the  fundamental 
principles  involved.  It  was  carried  from  the  ecclesiastical 
to  the  civil  courts  and  more  than  four  years  elapsed 
before  it  was  finally  disposed  of.  During  that  time 
feeling  ran  high  on  both  sides.  Among  those  whose 
judgment  ran  strongly  counter  to  the  proceedings  and 
findings  of  the  Bishop  and  ecclesiastical  court,  were  such 
men    as    the    Rev.    Dr.    McKim,    the    Rev.    Dr.    Harding 


2i8  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1896 

(the  present  Bishop  of  Washington)  and  the  Rev.  (now 
Archdeacon)  R.  P.  Williams. 

The  salient  points  in  the  case  were  these.  A  priest  of 
the  Diocese,  rector  of  a  church  in  Washington,  was  tried 
in  an  ecclesiastical  court  for  certain  offences,  for  which 
he  was  citable  under  the  canons,  and  was  convicted. 
The  Bishop  approved  the  findings  of  the  court  and 
pronounced  the  sentence  of  deposition.  A  request  for  a 
rehearing  was  denied.  Whereupon  the  deposed  priest 
turned  for  relief  to  the  civil  court.  The  Supreme  Court 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  to  which  he  appealed  issued 
a  writ  of  certiorari  against  the  demurrer  of  the  Bishop  of 
Washington,  that  "the  proceedings  of  an  ecclesiastical 
court  may  not  be  reviewed  by  the  civil  courts  of  the 
land,  and  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  former  was  absolute 
within  the  domain  of  spiritualities,  in  which  alone  it 
purported  to  judge."  * 

From  this  decision  the  Bishop  appealed  to  the  Court 
of  Appeals.  The  Court  of  Appeals  reversed  the  decision 
of  the  lower  court,  and  the  petition  of  the  deposed  priest 
was  dismissed. 

The  official  summary  of  the  decision,  delivered  by  Mr.  Chief 
Justice  Alvey  in  the  Court  of  Appeals,  follows  herewith,  except 
that  the  first  section  is  somewhat  condensed. 

1.  Charges  of  immorality  preferred  against  a  priest  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  "are  within  ecclesiastical  cogni- 
zance and  jurisdiction;  and  that  being  so,  there  can  be  no  serious 
question  as  to  the  right  and  power  of  the  General  Convention 
of  the  Church  to  make  and  enforce,  through  the  courts  of  the 
Diocese,  Canon  2,  of  Title  2,  of  the  General  Convention,  pro- 
viding that  ministers  of  the  Church  shall  be  liable  to  presentment 
and  trial  'for  .  .  .  crime  or  immorality/ 

"2.  Where  the  subject-matter  of  the  judgment  or  determina- 
tion of  an  ecclesiastical  court,  attempted  to  be  brought  under 
review  by  a  civil  court,  is  of  ecclesiastical  cognizance,  as  is  the 
subject-matter  of  the  judgment  in  the  present  case,  the  judg- 
ment of  the  ecclesiastical  court  is  conclusive,  and  no  civil  court 
has  jurisdiction  or  power  to  revise  it,  or  to  question  its  correctness. 

1  The  Living  Church  (Dec.  20,  1902). 


1898]  RES  SEVERN  219 

"3.  There  is  no  vested  property  right  in  a  clergyman  to 
exercise  the  function  of  his  ministerial  office  to  the  end  that  he 
may  earn  and  receive  a  salary  for  his  services.  The  right  to 
receive  the  salary  is  dependent  upon  the  continued  performance 
of  his  duties  as  minister;  and  if  he  becomes  disqualified  by  sus- 
pension or  deposition  from  office,  for  any  ecclesiastical  offense, 
the  right  to  receive  salary  will  cease  as  the  consequence  of  the 
judgment  against  him. 

"4.  The  deposition  of  a  minister  as  the  result  of  his  being 
convicted  by  an  ecclesiastical  court  of  an  offense  cognizable  by 
that  court,  thereby  depriving  him  of  the  right  of  earning  a  salary 
as  such  minister,  does  not  involve  a  property  right  so  as  to  give 
the  civil  courts  jurisdiction  to  review  the  judgment  of  the  eccle- 
siastical court. 

"5.  Mere  irregularity  in  the  formation  of  the  court  does  not 
justify  the  interference  of  the  civil  court  for  the  purpose  of 
correcting  irregularities  or  errors  in  the  proceedings. 

"6.  The  refusal  of  the  ecclesiastical  court  to  entertain  a 
challenge  taken  by  the  accused  to  one  of  the  members  of  the 
court,  or  the  supposed  insufficiency  of  the  evidence  upon  which 
the  accused  could  be  convicted  under  the  provisions  of  the  canon, 
are  questions  of  procedure,  depending  upon  the  judgment  of  the 
ecclesiastical  court,  over  which  the  civil  courts  can  exercise  no 
power  of  revision  or  control."  1 

Irrespective  of  the  question  of  guilt  or  innocence,  the 
accused  did  not  receive  just  treatment  at  the  hands  of 
the  Church.  The  Bishop,  who  had  appeared  in  the  trial 
as  a  witness,  was  the  only  reviewing  authority  of  the 
findings  of  the  court,  which  he  approved.  Through 
culpable  dilatoriness,  which  was  not  remedied  until  the 
General  Convention  of  1904,  the  Church  made  no  pro- 
vision for  courts  of  review  or  appeal.2  This  defect  drove 
the  accused  to  seek  redress  in  the  civil  courts.  The 
Supreme  Court  gave  the  Bishop  that  right  of  appeal,  of 
which  he  availed  himself,  but  which  had  been  denied  the 
accused  by  the  trial  court  of  the  Church.     Of  course  the 

1  The  Living  Church  (Dec.  20,  1902). 

2  The  constitutional  provision  for  a  Final  Court  of  Appeal  has  not  yet  taken 
canonical  shape. 


220  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1896 

Court  of  Appeals  did  not,  and  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
could  not,  consider  the  evidence  brought  before  the 
ecclesiastical  trial  court.  It  confined  itself  to  the  question 
of  jurisdiction  and  gave  judgment  in  the  premises.  Thus 
it  was  that  superior  equity  in  the  secular  courts  put  to 
shame  canon  law  that  neglected  to  give  due  protection 
to  an  accused  man.  A  properly  constituted  Court  of 
Review  or  of  Appeals  in  the  Church  would  have  cleared 
up  the  real  or  alleged  irregularities  and  defects  in  the 
character  and  proceedings  of  the  trial  court,  as  well  as 
prevented,  so  far  as  legal  provisions  can  prevent,  a 
miscarriage  of  justice. 

Whatever  errors  of  judgment  in  this  case  may  be 
urged  against  Bishop  Satterlee,  he  had  no  other  thought 
than  that  of  administering  justice  and  equity.  De- 
fective canon  law  first  deflected  his  judicial  sense,  and 
then  made  him  a  scapegoat.  Only  his  most  intimate 
friends  knew  that  he  was  acting  under  the  constant 
advice  of  two  eminent  jurists  and  churchmen.  When  it 
was  urged  upon  him  in  view  of  the  attacks  and  criticisms 
that  were  aimed  at  him,  that  he  should  make  this  fact 
known,  he  refused  on  the  score  that  the  responsibility 
was  his,  and  he  would  not  shift  it  in  any  wise  to  other 
shoulders.  He  refused  to  be  drawn  into  public  con- 
troversy, and  his  lips  were  sealed  in  the  matter  till  the 
day  of  his  death. 

In  1914  new  evidence  in  this  case  was  submitted  to 
Dr.  Satterlee's  successor  which  enabled  the  Bishop  of 
Washington  to  reinstate  the  accused  as  a  priest  of  the 
Church. 

The  one  good  thing  that  has  come  out  of  this  painful 
affair  is  the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  that  an  ecclesiastical  court  is 
supreme  within  its  jurisdiction. 


CHAPTER  XII 

WAR   AND    PEACE 

1898 

Light  against  darkness,  Liberty 
Against  all  dark  old  despotism,  unsheathed 
The  sword  in  that  great  hour. 

For  now  the  last  wild  tale 
Swept  like  another  dawn  across  the  deep; 
And,  in  that  dawn,  men  saw  the  slaves  of  Spain 

Burst  from  their  chains,  erect,  uplifting  hands 
Of  rapture  to  the  glad  new  light  that  then, 
Then  first,  began  to  struggle  thro1  the  clouds 
And  crown  all  manhood  with  a  sacred  crown 
August  —  a  light  which,  though  from  age  to  age 
Clouds  may  obscure  it,  grows  and  still  shall  grow, 
Until  that  Kingdom  come,  that  grand  Communion, 
That  Commonweal,  that  Empire,  which  still  draws 
Nigher  with  every  hour,  that  Federation, 
That  turning  of  the  wasteful  strength  of  War 
To  accomplish  large  and  fruitful  tasks  of  peace, 
That  gathering  up  of  one  another  s  loads 
Whereby  the  weak  are  strengthened  and  the  strong 
Made  stronger  in  the  increasing  good  of  all. 

ALFRED    NOYES 

THE  Spanish-American  War  came  as  a  shock  to  the 
Bishop's  peace-loving  temperament.  But  he  was 
convinced  that  the  real  motive  of  the  nation  in 
resorting  to  extreme  measures  rang  true.  He  was  not 
blind  to  the  fact  that  there  were  wheels  within  wheels  — 
that  jingoism,  commercial  intrigue,  territorial  covetous- 
ness,  the  spirit  of  revenge  stirred  by  the  destruction  of 
the  U.S.  battleship  "Maine/5  were  agitating  for  war. 
On  the  other  hand  he  trusted  the  moral  rectitude  of 
the  whole  of  the  people  in  such  a  decision,  and  accepted 
the  action  of  the  President,  who  more  than  any  occupant 
of  the  White  House  in  recent  years  had  his  ear  to  the 


222  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1898 

ground  and  accurately  interpreted  the  mind  of  the  coun- 
try at  large,  as  justifiable.  "We  are  fighting  this  battle 
because  we  recognize  that  Brotherhood  of  Man  which 
knows  no  national  boundaries  or  distinctions;  because 
we  recognize  the  truth  that  if  one  nation  suffer  all  the 
nations  suffer  with  it;  because  we  believe  in  and  are 
determined  to  guard  and  protect  those  ruling  ideas  of 
civilization  which  are  the  common  heritage  of  all  Christian 
nations."  x  Naturally  his  mind  found  a  contrast  between 
the  apathy  of  Europe  in  the  presence  of  the  persecuted 
Armenians,  and  the  fire  of  America  when,  after  much 
long  suffering,  the  misrule  of  the  Spaniards  in  Cuba 
reached  a  climax. 

What  all  Europe  refused  to  do  for  down-trodden  Armenia, 
we  in  America  are  doing  for  the  down-trodden  Cubans.  In  this 
the  verdid  of  future  history  will  undoubtedly  be  against  civilised 
Europe,  and  in  favor  of  civilised  America;  and  if  so,  we  are  now 
making  a  record  and  precedent  in  the  history  of  the  world  that 
will  be  far-reaching  in  its  beneficent  results. 

Indeed,  it  may  be  that,  in  God's  Providence,  our  nation,  in 
all  this,  is  an  instrument,  in  His  hands,  for  hastening  the  day 
when  that  prayer  of  the  ages  shall  be  answered: 

"Thy  Kingdom  come,  Thy  Will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
Heaven."  2 

Up  to  the  last  moment  Bishop  Satterlee  prayed  and 
hoped  for  an  honorable  way  out  of  the  trouble  without 
resorting  to  arms.  On  March  24,  1898,  just  one  month 
before  Spain  declared  war,  he  addresses  this  letter  to 
President  McKinley: 

My  dear  Mr.  President:  As  one  of  the  many  who  have  been 
cheered  by  your  firm  course,  and  who  deprecate  war,  may  I 
offer  one  suggestion? 

In  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  President  Lincoln  simply  began 
by  sending  ships  with  provision  for  the  relief  of  the  starving 
garrison  on  Fort  Sumter:  the  first  gun  was  fired  from  the  other 
side,  and  the  whole  North  arose  as  one  man. 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1898,  p.  26.  2  Ibid.,  p.  26. 


1898]  WAR  AND   PEACE  223 

To-day  the  Cubans  are  starving;  if  relief  were  sent  to  them 
by  us,  not  in  a  small  way,  but  in  a  great  way,  as  a  national 
measure,  and  the  first  gun  were,  once  more,  fired  from  the  other 
side,  what  would  be  the  inevitable  result? 

Respectfully  yours, 

HENRY  Y.    SATTERLEE. 

Of  course  this  letter  requires  no  answer. 

Under  April  11  the  following  entry  occurs  in  his  Journal. 

"Officiated  at  the  first  corporate  communion  of  the  Bishop's 
Guild  in  St.  Alban's  Church.  Observed  the  mid-day  hour  prayer 
for  Missions,  and  also  this  service  was  rendered  peculiarly  im- 
pressive from  the  facl  that  all  those  present  were  praying  for 
the  peace  of  the  world,  and  especially  peace  in  our  own  land, 
at  the  very  moment  when  the  President's  long-expected  Cuban 
Message  was  being  delivered  to  Congress." 

On  April  12  the  Bishop  wrote  a  sympathetic  letter  to 
the  President,  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  prayer  authorized 
for  use  in  the  Diocese  during  the  continuance  of  the  War. 

There  is  also  an  interesting  note  in  the  Bishop's 
Private  Record  which  is  worth  preserving  among  pre-war 
incidents: 

In  September,  1897,  the  War  with  Spain  seemed  imminent. 
When  at  this  time  Commodore  Dewey  was  ordered,  at  his  own 
request,  to  take  charge  of  the  fleet  at  Japan,  the  day  he  left 
Washington  one  of  the  Justices  met  him  on  F  Street  and  said: 
"Commodore,  it  looks  as  though  the  Spanish  War  were  com- 
ing." "It  certainly  does,"  was  Dewey's  answer.  "I  suppose," 
said  the  Justice,  "that  the  first  battle  will  be  fought  at  Havana." 
No,"  said  the  Commodore,  "it  will  be  fought  at  Manila." 
What  do  you  mean?"  said  the  Justice;  to  which  Dewey  replied: 
If  I  have  anything  to  do  with  it,  I  shall  sail  over  in  the  night 
and  capture  Manila  before  breakfast." 

The  Bishop's  summers  were  alwrays  spent  in  part  at 
least,  sometimes  altogether,  in  Twilight  Park  among  the 
Catskill  Mountains.  He  began  to  go  to  this  beautiful 
retreat  in  1892  and  for  several  years  subsequently  he  and 


<< 
«< 


224  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

his  family  came  as  visitors.  Then  he  bought  a  house 
which  afterwards  was  his  summer  home.  It  was  a  simple, 
rustic  building,  perched  high  on  the  mountain-side, 
fittingly  called  "The  Eyrie.'3  Here  he  drew  in  great, 
deep  breaths  of  inspiration  and  health.  He  soon  made 
his  presence  felt  as  a  pastor.  Services  were  begun  in  a 
rented  room.  Then  the  Park  donated  land  for  a  church, 
which  was  built  by  contributions  from  summer  residents. 
It  is  characteristic  of  the  Bishop  that  he  rented  "The 
Eyrie"  for  a  year,  in  order  to  give  the  money  thus  raised 
to  the  church.  All  Angels'  was  consecrated  and  given 
to  the  Diocese  of  Albany  in  1913.  The  building  is 
architecturally  suited  to  its  beautiful  rustic  surroundings 
and  stands  as  a  memorial,  not  only  to  the  pastor  who 
never  forgot  to  feed  the  flock,  but  also  to  the  master- 
builder,  who  was  under  perpetual  constraint  to  build 
while  he  lived. 

Two  days  after  the  destruction  of  the  Spanish  fleet 
Bishop  Satterlee  wrote  this  merry  letter  to  his  friend  Mr. 
Grinnell: 

THE    EYRIE.      TWILIGHT   PARK 

THE    CATSKILLS 

JULY  S  (1898). 

Dear  Mr.  Grinnell:  Yes,  there  you  are  again!  You  old  Span- 
iard you  —  with  your  Cadizian  sophistry:  Carramba!  Terra  del 
Fuego!  But  I'll  be  even  with  you  yet:  I'll  Santiago  you,  Manila 
you  —  Porto  Rico  you,  yet:   see  if  I  don't! 

How  do  you  like  the  change  in  the  weather?  O  how  I  pitied 
all  in  the  valley  on  Sunday.  Here  it  was  890  at  8  a.m.  —  ditto 
yesterday  morning.  I  thought  the  Catskills  were  going  to  be- 
come suddenly  a  volcano,  but  the  clerk  of  the  weather  thought 
differently. 

To-day  at  8  a.m.  it  was  620  and  we  are  shivering  with  cold. 
I  am  writing  to  you  before  a  West  window  of  the  nearest  room 
to  old  Sol,  with  my  back  filling  the  window  in  the  broad  sun- 
light to  keep  warm.  If  my  hand  shakes  it  is  because  I  am  so 
chilly. 

Yesterday  we  had  a  "rally"  at  Colonel  Lathers,  sang  4th  of 
July  songs,  and  I  made  a  splendid  spread  eagle  oration  45  sec- 


Ig98]  WAR  AND  PEACE  225 

onds  long.  I  got  ahead  this  time  of  the  Revd.  Cream  Cheese 
Union  Chapelman,  who  spoke  45  minutes  more  or  less,  while  we 
sweltered  and  fanned  ourselves  with  paper  American  flags. 

But  isn't  it  a  splendid  victory?  The  news  came  to  us  just 
at  Oration  time,  and  what  fireworks  we  sent  up!  1 776-1 863- 
1898.  Gettsyburg  —  Vicksburg  —  Santiago  —  Cervara  [sic]  — 
hurrah !   There  you  have  the  whole  report  of  the  thrilling  doings 

at  Col.  Lathers. 

But  seriously,  —  Isn't  it  remarkable  the  way  that  the  Ameri- 
can Navy  is  making  its  mark.  The  future  history  of  America 
will  be  altered  by  the  remembrance  of  Manila  and  Santiago. 

I  cannot  tell  you  how  long  the  remembrance  of  your  delight- 
ful visit  will  linger.  We  have  a  whole  cluster  of  new  Netherwood 
Memories  now  inscribed  in  our  earthly  book  of  life,  and  I  thank 
you  and  Mrs.  Grinnell  a  thousand  times  for  your  delicate  con- 
sideration and  affectionate  renewing  of  the  past.  I  was  glad  to 
be  alone  in  dear  old  Zion  Church  on  Sunday,  with  you  as  lay 
reader:  and  equally  glad  to  meet  the  rector  on  Monday.  It 
was  just  right.  The  only  wrong  thing  that  happened  was 
that  I  left  behind  the  paper  cutter  Mrs.  Grinnell  gave  me  on 
the  .  .  .  Anniversary  of  June  30.  Will  you  please  send  it.  I 
thought  it  was  in  the  pocket  of  my  coat,  but  alas  — .  With 
love  from  us  both  to  you  both,  I  am 

Your  attached  friend, 

H.   Y.    SATTERLEE. 

P.  S.  I  found  such  scores  of  letters  when  I  arrived  that  I  had 
to  engage  a  type  writer,  or  rather  a  writer  without  the  type,  I 
have  been  writing  and  dictating  ever  since  I  came  here,  hence 
my  delay  in  writing  you,  bine  illce  lacrymce! 

It  was  in  due  recognition  of  the  dignity  of  the  new 
Diocese  that  the  first  General  Convention  after  its  or- 
ganization should  meet  in  the  country's  Capital.  Just 
before  it  convened,  the  site  on  Mount  St.  Alban  l  for  the 

1  The  following  historical  note  taken  from  the  Washington  Times  (O&ober 
24,  1898)  is  full  of  interest: 

"An  interesting  history  is  connected  with  the  site  of  the  proposed  Cathedral. 
In  the  earlier  part  of  the  century  Mt.  St.  Alban  was  owned  by  Joseph  Nourse, 
who  was  appointed  by  President  Washington  first  registrar  of  the  Treasury. 
Toward  the  middle  of  the  century  the  mount  was  purchased  as  the  site  of  a 
school  for  boys,  under  the  name-  of  'St.  John's  Institute.'     It  met  with  little 


226  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

National  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  was  secured 
(September  7,  1898).  Immediately  the  Bishop's  busy 
mind  searched  for  some  way  of  marking  the  event.  He 
found  it  in  the  singularly  felicitous  monument  of  the 
Peace  Cross  which  nationalized  the  locality,  and  spiritual- 
ized the  triumph  of  arms.  At  the  same  moment  it  threw 
into  bold  relief  the  idea  of  a  National  Cathedral  which 
captured  the  imagination  of  General  Convention.  The 
day  following,  congratulatory  resolutions  were  passed  in 
both  Houses.  On  motion  of  the  Bishop  of  Delaware  (Dr. 
Coleman)  the  House  of  Bishops 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  House  express  to  the 
Bishop  of  Washington  their  earnest  congratulations  upon  the 
happy  inauguration  of  his  Cathedral  project,  and  their  hearty 
prayers  for  God's  continued  and  abundant  blessings  upon  this 
part  of  his  important  work. 

On  motion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  W.  Nelson  the  House  of 
Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies. 

Resolved,  That  this  House,  mindful  of  yesterday's  noble  arid 
most  impressive  service  of  the  unveiling  of  the  Cross  of  Peace 

success,  however,  until  Bishop  Whittingham  induced  the  Rev.  Anthony  Ten 
Broeck  to  remove  his  school  from  Orange,  N.J.,  to  the  mount. 

"A  chapel  was  fitted  up  by  Mr.  Ten  Broeck,  in  the  second  story  of  the 
school  building,  and  used  by  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  as  a  house  of 
worship.  Among  the  faithful  attendants  at  the  little  upper  room  chapel  was 
Miss  Phoebe  Nourse,  a  grand-daughter  of  Joseph  Nourse,  who  was  an  adive 
worker  until  a  lingering  illness  kept  her  in  bed  for  many  months  until  death 
relieved  her. 

"At  her  death,  among  her  personal  effects  was  found  a  box  inscribed:  'To 
be  given  to  the  Rev.  Ten  Broeck  as  the  beginning  of  a  fund  for  a  free  church  at 
St.  Alban.'  In  the  box  were  forty  gold  dollars,  the  earnings  of  the  devoted 
woman  from  needlework  during  her  illness. 

"In  March,  185 1,  the  first  anniversary  of  Miss  Nourse's  death,  ground  for 
the  church  was  broken,  and  the  building  progressed  as  rapidly  as  funds  would 
permit.  In  1853,  however,  owing  to  the  inability  of  the  trustees  to  redeem  a 
mortgage,  all  the  property  passed  out  of  the  possession  of  the  Church,  except  the 
little  plat  on  which  the  edifice  stood. 

"It  has  gone  into  the  hands  of  the  Church  again,  however,  with  considerable 
more  property,  the  whole  thing  being  valued  at  $245,000.  A  Cathedral  School 
for  Girls  will  be  built,  Mrs.  Phoebe  A.  Hearst  having  donated  $200,000  for  that 
purpose.  The  Cathedral  Foundation  was  incorporated  under  a  charter  approved 
by  Congress  on  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphany,  1893." 


1898]  WAR  AND  PEACE  227 

on  the  Cathedral  grounds  of  Saint  Peter  and  Saint  Paul,  gives 
joy  to  the  Bishop  of  Washington  for  this  formal  and  felicitous 
beginning  of  his  great  Cathedral  work,  in  the  success  of  which 
the  whole  Church  will  share,  and  in  the  doing  of  which  the  whole 
Church  might  well  assist,  and  renders  thanks  to  God  that 
through  the  influence  of  the  Christian  faith,  the  old  war  cross, 
always  a  sign  of  war  and  desolation,  is  being  more  and  more 
supplanted  by  Christ's  blessed  Cross  of  Peace. 

Resolved,  That  this  House  recognizes  with  pleasure  the  pres- 
ence of  the  President  of  the  United  States  at  the  ceremonies  of 
the  unveiling  of  the  Cross,  and  thanks  him  for  the  kindly  and 
generous  words  he  uttered. 

As  the  story  of  the  Peace  Cross  belongs  to  the  "Coming 
of  the  Cathedral'  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  cere- 
monies connected  with  its  dedication  is  reserved  for  that 
chapter.  The  Peace  Cross  Book  was  afterwards  published 
as  a  memorial  of  the  occasion. 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Pyne  written  on  September  11,  he 
says  in  referring  to  the  war: 

This  war  has  been  really  a  war  for  peace,  and  peace  has  come 
in   answer  to   thousands  of  Christian  prayers.      It   has   brought 

(1)  Peace  between  the  U.  S.  and  Spain. 

(2)  "  "        North  and  South. 

(3)  England  and  America. 

(4)  Undoubtedly  it  has  been  one  of  the  factors  that  caused 

the  Emperor  of  Russia's  proposition  for  peace. 
Now  I  am  in  hope  that  we  can  have  a  simple  cross  of  the 
Iona  type  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  to  commemorate  this  historic 
peace  of  1898;  erected  on  the  site  of  the  future  Cathedral,  and 
afterwards  removed  to  some  other  part  of  the  Cathedral  grounds 
after  the  Cathedral  itself  is  built,  where  it  will  stand  for  cen- 
turies as  an  object  of  ever  increasing  interest  and  historic  value. 

So  far  as  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention  were 
notable  for  anything,  they  were  a  step  forward  in  breadth 
of  vision  and  purpose.  Of  course  the  perennial  questions 
of  "the  Change  of  Name,"  and  marriage  and  divorce 
occupied  much  time.  But  what  really  counted  was 
progress  in  the  missionary  spirit  and  outlook  of  the  Church 


228  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

and  in  the  difficult  matter  of  the  revision  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. If  this,  or  indeed  any,  Convention,  were  judged  by 
its  purely  legislative  achievements  few  would  be  worthy 
of  a  high  place,  nor  would  that  of  1898  be  among  them. 
It  is  the  conferential  side  that  is,  in  such  an  assemblage, 
the  most  valuable.  In  this  respect  the  Convention  of 
1898  was  not  a  failure.  Also  by  the  nomination  to  the 
Presiding  Bishop  of  the  Rev.  L.  L.  Kinsolving  to  be 
consecrated  Bishop  for  the  Church  of  the  United  States 
of  Brazil,  the  Church  settled  the  question  as  to  her  mind 
regarding  so-called  " intrusion"  in  Latin  countries.  This 
was  a  matter  in  which  Bishop  Satterlee  never  entertained 
a  moment  of  uncertainty.  The  vocation  of  the  Church 
of  his  allegiance  demanded  that  in  given  circumstances 
she  should  organize  in  Roman  Catholic  countries.  Nor 
was  he  looking  for  sectarian  glory  in  advocating  this 
course.     He  felt  that  true  Catholicity  demanded  it. 

That  which  made  the  General  Convention  of  1898 
really  remarkable  was  external  to  it.  The  Peace  Cross, 
the  pilgrimage  to  Jamestown *  and  the  translation  of 
the  remains  of  Bishop  Claggett,  though  incidental, 
attracted  public  attention  and  settled  into  history  in  a 
way  that  nothing  else  that  occurred  did.  All  three  are 
closely  connected  with,  and  in  part  the  result  of,  Bishop 
Satterlee's  organizing  genius  and  imaginative  power. 
The  first  has  already  been  alluded  to.  The  second, 
the  pilgrimage  to  Jamestown,  was  carried  through  by  the 
Laymen's  League  of  Washington.  Almost  the  whole 
Convention  adjourned  thither  en  masse. 

Jamestown,  Va.,  was   not  only  the  cradle  of  colonial 

1  This  celebration  anticipated  by  nine  years  the  centenary  anniversary  of 
the  first  Prayer  Book  service: 

"The  Three  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  first  Communion  Service  of  our 
Prayer  Book  in  the  civilization  of  America  at  Jamestown  in  1607,  will  fall  on 
the  Third  Sunday  after  Trinity,  June  16th.  It  is  hoped  that  that  day  will  be 
marked  as  a  day  of  special  thanksgiving  in  our  Church  throughout  the  United 
States;  that  it  will  be  observed  by  a  corporate  Communion  of  Men,  by  the 
representation  of  the  Men's  Missionary  Thank  Offering  for  the  foundation  of  our 
Church  in  this  land,  and  in  other  appropriate  ways."  —  The  Bishop's  annual 
address,  Diocesan  Journal,  1907,  p.  31. 


1898]  WAR  AND   PEACE  229 

Christianity  but  also  of  government.  It  was  the  earliest 
permanent  English  settlement  in  America  (founded  in 
1607)  and  here  representative  government  was  inaugu- 
rated in  1619,  hand  in  hand,  alas,  with  the  introduction 
of  negro  slavery.1  To  quote  from  the  admirable  histor- 
ical address  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  H.  McKim  in 
Jamestown  on  the  occasion  of  the  pilgrimage  (October  15): 

There  are  events  and  facts  which  lie  at  the  beginning  of  our 
national  life  that  we  have  allowed  to  be  all  covered  over  with 
the  dust  of  time  and  neglect.  We  should  bring  them  out  and 
use  them  and  let  the  noble  crest  of  our  heritage  be  seen.  One 
of  them  is  the  fact  that  within  the  walls  of  our  old  Jamestown 
Church,  as  Bancroft  says,  was  first  asserted  on  this  continent 
the  doctrine  of  "  popular  sovereignty."  True  Americanism  was 
born  here.2 

The  chief  point  of  interest  in  Jamestown  to-day  is 
the  ruined,  ivy-clad  tower,  which  is  all  that  remains  of 
the  first  parish  church  ever  erected  in  America   (1610).3 

In  Jamestown  was  celebrated  for  the  first  time  on 
American  soil  the  Holy  Communion  according  to  the 
English  Liturgy,  in  an  extemporized  Church  —  "a  pen 
of  poles  with  a  sail  for  a  roof,  and  for  a  pulpit  a  bar 
lashed  between  two  convenient  trees'  (June  21,  1607). 4 
Here  Pocahontas,  the  Indian  maid  honored  in  history 
and  verse,  was  made  a  member  of  Christ.  Here,  as 
Bishop  Satterlee  notes,  "was  laid  the  corner-stone  of 
that  parish  life  which  has  characterized  our  American 
Church  so  strongly  in  subsequent  centuries."  5 

The    service    was    held,    and    the    addresses    delivered, 

1  The  first  slaves  came  on  the  Dutch  ship  "Jesus"! 

2  From  the  report  in  the  Richmond  Times,  October  16,  1898. 

8  The  first  building,  a  crude  edifice,  was  burned  in  the  fire  of  1608  which 
destroyed  the  Settlement. 

4  Virginia  Dare  —  what  pathos  and  romance  the  name  kindles!  —  was  the 
first  white  child  born  in  America  (1587).  She  was  baptized  by  the  chaplain  of 
the  British  man-of-war  that  carried  away  from  Roanoke  all  but  a  remnant, 
of  whom  little  Virginia  was  one,  of  Raleigh's  colony.  The  remnant  were  never 
heard  of  again. 

'  Diocesan  Journal,  1899,  p.  41. 


230  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

in  front  of  the  old  tower.  The  Bishop  of  Southern  Vir- 
ginia (Dr.  Randolph),  in  whose  diocese  Jamestown  is, 
gave  the  address  of  welcome,  and  was  followed  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  McKim,  the  Bishop  of  California  (Dr.  Nichols), 
and  the  Bishop  of  Massachusetts  (Dr.  Lawrence). 

The  third  event  was  the  translation  of  the  remains 
of  Bishop  Claggett  and  his  wife  from  Croom  to  Mount 
St.  Alban.  Bishop  Satterlee's  own  words  give  an  ac- 
count of  it: 

On  the  last  day  of  the  Convention,  Bishop  Johnson,  of  Los 
Angeles,  suggested  that  Bishop  Claggett's  remains  should  be 
transferred  to  the  Cathedral  close,  and  to  my  great  surprise 
Bishop  Dudley,  instigated  by  him,  moved  that  a  committee  of 
five  bishops  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  proper  monument.  Then 
the  Convention  adjourned. 

Knowing  that  the  remains  of  Bishop  Claggett  ought  to  be 
translated  at  once,  before  differences  of  opinion  could  arise,  I 
consulted  Dr.  Chew  and  his  family,  who  own  the  farm  where  the 
remains  were  interned,  and  gained  their  consent.  Then  Mr. 
Bratenahl  suggested  that  the  day  of  all  others  for  the  transla- 
tion was  All  Saints,  less  than  a  week  off.  I  engaged  the  under- 
taker, and  appointed  two  deacons,  Rev.  Messrs.  Johnson  and 
Thompson,  to  superintend  the  removal  as  witnesses  for  the 
Church.  Then,  when  I  went  to  the  health  officer  for  a  permit, 
the  greatest  obstacle  of  all  developed  itself.  He  said  it  was 
positively  against  the  law  to  have  any  interments  save  in  an 
incorporated  cemetery.  I  told  him  that  the  remains  were  that 
very  Monday  morning  being  exhumed  and  brought  to  Washing- 
ton; that  the  vault  in  St.  Alban's  churchyard,  behind  the 
chancel,  was  nearly  built,  and  that  the  whole  service  had  been 
arranged.  He  remained  firm.  It  was  against  the  law.  Then 
Mr.  Glover  and  I  pointed  out  to  him  that  he  had  liberty  to  give 
a  permit  for  a  temporary  interment.  He  acquiesced  in  this  and 
gave  a  permit  to  December  31st.  At  11  o'clock  that  night  the 
Rev.  Edward  Johnson  telephoned  me  that  the  remains  had 
arrived  in  Washington.  I  at  once  telegraphed  Bishop  Paret  and 
the  whole  Chew  family  that  the  service  would  take  place  the 
next  afternoon,  All  Saints'  Day,  at  three  o'clock.  Twelve  clergy 
were  present.  The  remains  were  deposited  in  sealed  metallic 
boxes   and   these   were   enclosed   in   antique   coffins,   with   large 


1898]  WAR  AND  PEACE  231 

crosses  on  the  lids,  for  both  Bishop  and  Mrs.  Claggett.  Both 
were  before  the  chancel.  The  service  was  the  Pro-Anaphora  of 
the  burial  service  of  King  Edward  the  Sixth's  first  Prayer  Book, 
with  the  beatitudes  instead  of  the  Commandments,  and  the 
service  at  the  grave  was  an  adaptation  of  our  burial  service. 
Over  fifty  of  Bishop  Claggett's  descendants  were  present,  and 
all  of  them  signed  the  parish  register.  Afterwards  the  burial 
permit  was  extended  to  December  31,  1899.  Then  a  bill  was 
drawn  up  by  ex-Senator  Edmunds  and  presented  to  Congress, 
permitting  four  interments  a  year  in  the  Cathedral  grounds. 

Then  I  went  with  Mr.  Glover  to  see  the  health  officer  and 
District  Commissioner,  to  whom  Congress  had  referred  the  bill. 
We  explained  its  nature,  and  I  wrote  a  letter  stating  that  we 
only  would  ask  permission  to  use  the  Cathedral  as  the  English 
use  Westminster  Abbey.  The  Commissioners  readily  gave  con- 
sent, and  the  bill  was  passed  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1900. 

The  resolution  of  the  House  of  Bishops  referred  to  is  as 
follows : 

Whereas,  It  has  been  represented  to  some  of  the  Bishops  attend- 
ing this  session  of  the  General  Convention,  that  the  grave  of  the 
first  Bishop  of  Maryland,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  John  Claggett, 
is  not  guarded  by  a  monument  appropriate  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  a  man  who  bore  such  relation  to  the  very  beginnings 
of  our  Ecclesiastical  life;    and 

Whereas,  There  is  eminent  propriety  that  his  remains  should 
rest  near  the  precinds  of  the  Cathedral  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul 
in  this  city;    therefore, 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  Bishops  l  shall  be  appointed 
by  this  House  to  whom  shall  be  entrusted  the  work  of  raising  a 
sufficient  fund  to  provide  for  the  removal  and  re-interment  of 
the  remains  at  such  place  as  may  be  agreed  upon  in  consultation 
with  the  Bishop  of  Washington,  and  the  erection  of  a  monument 
fitting  to  mark  the  grave  of  this  Father  of  our  Church,  the  first 
Bishop  consecrated  on  the  American  continent. 

The  Right  Rev.  Thomas  John  Claggett,  first  Bishop 
of   Maryland    (1792-1816),  was   the    fifth    bishop    in    the 

1  The  committee  appointed  were  the  Bishop  of  West  Virginia,  the  Bishop  of 
Kentucky,  the  Bishop  of  Maryland,  the  Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  Bishop 
of  Washington. 


232  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

American  succession  and  the  first  of  any  branch  of  the 
Catholic  Church  to  be  consecrated  on  American  soil. 
He  was  the  first  chaplain  of  the  U.  S.  Senate  after  the 
removal  of  the  government  to  Washington.  The  in- 
scription on  his  tomb  was  from  the  pen  of  Francis  Scott 
Key,  author  of  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner."  1  The 
remains  of  the  Bishop  and  his  wife  were  deposited  on 
All  Saints'  Day  in  a  vault  beneath  the  choir  of  St. 
Alban's  Church  "where  they  will  repose  until  the  can- 
opied tomb  decreed  by  the  resolution  of  the  House  of 
Bishops  is  eredled  in  the  future  Cathedral  itself."2 

Watching  in  the  church  by  the  side  of  the  remains 
before  their  re-interment  was  the  colored  sexton,  ninety- 
three  years  old,  probably  the  only  person  living  who  had 
seen  and  known  Bishop  Claggett.  As  a  child  he  had 
attended   the   Bishop's   church. 

1  This  is  the  inscription: 

THOMAS   JOHANNES   CLAGGETT,   D.   D. 

MARYLANDIAE    EPISCOPUS    PRIMUS 

NATUS    SEXTO   NONIS   OCTOBRIS 

ANNO    SALUTIS 

1743 
ORDINATUS   DIACONUS    ET   PRESBYTER 

LONDINI 

I767 

ET   EPISCOPUS   CONSECRATUS 

1792 

DECESSIT   IN   PACE   CHRISTI 

QUARTO   NONIS   AUGUSTI 

I8l6 

FIDELITATE    AT   MANSUETUDINE 

ECCLESIAM    REXIT 

MORIBUSQUE 

ORNAVIT 

UXORI   LIBERISQUE    SOCIISQUE 

MEMORIAM    CLARISSIMAM: 

ET    PATRIAE    ET    ECCLESIAE 

NOMEN   HONORA  TUM 

DEDIT 

2  The  Building  of  a  Cathedral,  P-  16.  See  also  The  Peace  Cross  Book  which 
contains  a  sketch  by  Dr.  Thomas  Nelson  Page. 

The  spring  following,  a  brass  tablet,  in  memory  of  Bishop  Claggett,  the 
inscription  on  which  included  the  original  Latin  epitaph,  was  presented  to  St. 
Thomas'  Church,  Croom,  by  Bishop  Satterlee. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

VISIONS   AND   TASKS 

1898-I9OI 

Strength  is  not  won  by  miracle  or  rape. 
It  is  the  offspring  of  the  modest  years. 
The  gift  of  sire  to  son. 

GEORGE   MEREDITH 

JUST  before  Christmas  (1898)  Bishop  Satterlee  fell  and 
dislocated  his  elbow.  Though  it  was  painful  and  in- 
convenient, he  kept  busily  at  work.  The  National 
Cathedral  School  for  Girls  was  to  be  erected  at  once  and 
called  for  much  attention.  During  the  opening  months 
of  the  new  year,  in  addition  to  his  diocesan  duties,  we 
find  him  active  as  a  committee  man  of  the  Board  of 
Missions,  as  an  officer  of  the  Church  Temperance  Society, 
and  as  a  member  of  the  Colored  Commission.  On 
January  22  he  preached  at  the  University  of  Virginia. 
Under  March  11  is  the  following  entry  in  his  Journal: 

At  11  a.m.,  the  Committee  on  Army  Chaplains,  appointed  by 
the  last  General  Convention,  and  represented  by  the  Bishop  of 
Maryland,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Mackay-Smith,  S.T.D.,  and  the 
Rev.  R.  H.  McKim,  D.D.,  and  myself,  waited  on  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  We  petitioned  him  to  refer  all  applica- 
tions coming  to  him  from  clergy  of  our  Church  for  positions  as 
army  chaplains,  to  the  Bishop  of  Washington,  for  investigation. 
The  President  agreed,  and  also  consented  to  allow  two  mission- 
aries to  be  taken  to  Manila  on  government  transports  and  at 
government  cost. 

Much  of  his  reserve  strength  from  now  until  1905  was 
devoted  to  raising  the  debt  on  the  Cathedral  property. 
Though  it  weighed  heavily  on  his  mind  and  taxed  his 
time,  he  did  not  allow  it  to  interfere  with  his  other 
interests    and    responsibilities.     The    plan    of  "Founders' 


234  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1898 

Certificates"  was  devised.  The  Bishop  sent  far  and 
wide  a  circular  letter  on  the  subject,  dated  St.  Paul's 
Day,  1899.     In  it  he  points  out  how  — 

All  the  great  Christian  bodies  of  this  country  are  making 
strenuous  efforts  to  centralize  their  power  here  in  the  Capital  of 
the  United  States.  No  one  can  question  the  wisdom  of  such 
efforts,  and  it  is  therefore  of  the  utmost  importance,  for  the  sake 
of  the  Church  in  America,  that  our  Cathedral  here  should  be 
built  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

To  this  end  it  is  imperative  that  interest  be  aroused  in  the 
project  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

He  proceeds  to  narrate  the  various  means  already 
employed  advantageously  to  this  end,  and  states  the 
amount  still  necessary  to  free  the  property  of  encum- 
brance  ($145,000). 

While  this  amount  would  be  met  by  145  subscriptions  of 
$1,000  each,  it  is  far  more  desirable  that  it  be  raised  by  $10,  or 
£5,  or  even  one  dollar  subscriptions.  To  this  end  a  plan  has 
been  adopted  by  which  every  subscriber  who  gives  one  dollar 
or  more  for  the  purchase  of  this  land  is  in  fad:  purchasing  and 
donating  to  the  Cathedral  for  every  dollar  subscribed  5  square 
feet  of  the  present  site.  A  "Founder's  Certificate'3  to  this 
effect  will  be  issued  to  every  such  subscriber. 

He  enclosed  in  his  circular  letter  one  from  Senator 
Edmunds,  written  on  the  preceding  St.  Paul's  Day: 

I724  SPRUCE  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA, 

JAN.  25,  1898. 

My  dear  Bishop:  I  was  very  glad  to  be  present  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Cathedral  Board  at  your  house  the  other  day,  and  to 
hear  your  clear  statement  of  the  situation. 

If  our  brother  churchmen  in  every  part  of  the  country  — 
especially  those  blessed  with  abundant  means  —  could  only 
realize  the  state  of  things,  as  you  and  I  see  it  and  know  it, 
there  would  be,  I  am  sure,  no  want  of  the  material  resources 
necessary  to  carry  on  the  work  with  all  the  rapidity  of  which 
it  is  capable. 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  235 

The  Capital  of  this  great  nation  is  necessarily  the  pivotal 
point  of  national  religious,  as  well  as  political,  progress  on  the 
continent. 

The  astute  and  far-seeing  authorities  of  Rome  have  seen  it, 
and  have  established  their  headquarters  at  Washington,  with  a 
delegated  authority  that  locates  an  almost  dual  Vatican  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  thence  conduces  its  propaganda  in 
every  part  of  the  country,  and  exerts  its  powerful  influence  in 
every  direction. 

Our  Church,  the  real  lineal  and  historical  descendant  and 
successor  of  the  primitive  Apostolic  Church,  seems  to  fail  to  see 
our  duty,  and  our  opportunity,  to  establish  our  Protestant  Na- 
tional Cathedral  Foundation  in  the  same  central  sphere  of 
influence  with  the  worship,  the  schools,  the  theological  seminaries 
and  the  missionary  work  that  are  included  in  the  idea  and  char- 
ter of  our  Cathedral  Foundation. 

I  do  most  earnestly  hope  that  our  brethren  everywhere  may 
be  led  to  understand  the  very  great  importance  of  the  work  at 
Washington,  and  help  to  the  utmost  of  their  abilities  to  carry 

it  on. 

Yesterday  has  gone;    to-morrow  is  always  to-morrow;    to-day 

is  the  time  for  adion. 

Very  faithfully  yours, 

GEO.   F.    EDMUNDS. 

When  the  Bishop  provided  for  an  oratory  in  his  own 
house  there  was  some  little  misunderstanding  on  the  part 
of  the  neighboring  parish  of  St.  Andrew's,  as  to  the  place 
it  would  hold  ecclesiastically.  When  the  Bishop  made 
explanation,  the  Recftor  (the  Rev.  J.  B.  Perry)  writes: 

There  rests  upon  us  a  great  responsibility  in  trying  to  build  up 
the  Church  in  this  part  of  the  national  capital  assigned  to  us. 
A  few  weeks  since  we  began  refunding  our  debt  and  to  anyone 
investing  the  question  of  territory  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
authorities  of  the  parish  is  of  vital  importance.  There  was  a 
report  that  a  free  chapel  or  church  was  to  be  ere&ed  in  con- 
nection with  and  near  to  the  episcopal  residence,  situated,  as  you 
know,  close  to  the  centre  of  our  Parish. 

From  your  letter  —  as  we  understand  it  —  you  do  not  claim 
tin   right  to  conduct  the  public  services  in  the  episcopal  residence, 


236  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

and  this  was  the  assurance  sought  and  we  thank  you  for  it;    as 
it  will  quiet  the  fears  of  our  people. 

Permit  me  —  dear  Bishop  —  in  conclusion  to  assure  you  — 
if  you  have  any  suspicion  of  antagonism  from  us,  you  are  mis- 
taken and  that  you  will  —  if  ever  needed  —  receive  from  no 
congregation  more  loyal  support  than  from  the  Rector  and 
Vestry  of  St.  Andrew's  Parish. 

To  which  the  Bishop  replies: 

TO   DR.    PERRY 

May  23rd,  '99.  —  I  have  just  received  your  letter,  and  it  is  a 
great  relief  to  my  mind,  for  I  could  not  imagine  what  the  real 
motive  of  writing  it  was.  I  never  dreamed  of  building  any 
chapel  for  public  services;  or  making  my  own  chapel  the  initia- 
tory step  of  such  a  movement. 

Of  course  if  such  had  been  my  intention,  the  very  first  per- 
sons I  should  have  consulted,  would  have  been  the  Reftor  and 
the  Vestry  of  St.  Andrew's,  because  the  welfare  of  your  parish, 
is  as  dear  to  me,  as  it  is  to  you.  I  share  with  you  in  spirit  the 
burden  of  your  debt,  and  you  have  my  constant  prayers  that  it 
may  be  lifted:  —  I  might  even  go  so  far  as  to  say,  my  daily 
prayers.     I  only  wish  I  could  co-operate  in  other  ways. 

Of  course  I  understand  the  law  about  places  where  public 
church  services  are  held.  As  for  my  chapel  it  is  distinctly,  a 
private  chapel,  the  entrance  to  which  is  through  my  own  front 
door.  It  is  only  used  in  the  same  way  that  bishops  from  time 
immemorial  have  used  their  family  chapels;  and  I  need  not  tell 
you  what  a  privilege  it  is  for  me  to  have  a  place  where  I  can 
conduct  daily  family  prayers,  celebrate  the  Holy  Communion, 
and  administer  such  occasional  episcopal  offices  and  services,  as 
need  may  require. 

I  cannot  help  but  feel  that  the  blessing  from  God  will  go  out 
from  this  place  in  the  Bishop's  House,  where  prayer  is  wont 
to  be  made,  for  your  own  parish,  and  all  the  parishes  of  this 
Diocese. 

This  year  (1899)  Bishop  Satterlee  published  New  Testa- 
ment Churchmanship.1  As  one  of  the  reviewers  said,  the 
author  "must  be  a  man  of  unusual  energy  and  activity, 
as  in   addition  to   administering  the   affairs   of  his  large 

1  Longmans,  Green,  &  Co. 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  237 

and  important  diocese,  he  finds  time  to  write  so  elaborate 
and  thorough  a  work  as"  this.  The  Bishop's  sense  of 
humor  was  evidently  tickled  by  some  of  the  reviews. 
In  the  volume  in  which  he  pasted  the  notices  of  his 
book  there  are  two  side  by  side,  one  of  which  begins: 
"The  Episcopal  bishop  of  Washington  is  so  low l  a 
churchman  that  we  should  think  some  of  his  colleagues 
would  be  disturbed."  Its  neighbor  says  on  the  contrary: 
"This  volume  belongs  in  a  class  of  devout  high  l  church 
publications  which  in  spite  of  all  their  limitations,  com- 
mand our  respect  and  sympathy/3  Both  were  in  Prot- 
estant church  journals!  Another  supercilious  (English) 
review  says:  "A  writer  who  elects  to  stand  aloof  from  all 
schools  of  theological  thought,  and  take  up  an  independent 
position  of  his  own,  must  be  very  sure  of  his  ground." 

Homer  did  a  little  nodding  in  re  fasting  communion, 
in  the  treating  of  which  the  "natural"  fast  before  com- 
munion was  confused  with  the  disciplinary,  or  "eccle- 
siastical," fast.  The  following  letter  from  Canon  Gore 
is   upon   this   subject: 

August  17,  '99.  —  Many  thanks  for  your  volume  which  I  have 
not  yet  thoroughly  read,  but  with  which  I  am  sure  I  shall  greatly 
sympathize.  If  I  may  venture  to  say  it,  on  the  matter  of  fast- 
ing communion  quite  apart  from  opinion  as  to  what  is  desirable, 
I  fear  you  have  not  quite  got  at  all  the  facts.  The  rule  of  fasting 
communion  is  already  in  the  Canon  of  Hippolytus  {circa  200 
a.d.)  quite  strongly  recognized  and  .enforced,  and  in  the  4th 
century  there  is  a  case  of  conscience  as  to  whether  swallowing 
a  drop  of  water  while  washing  broke  the  fast,  which  shows  that 
they  then  {circa  380)  understood  the  fast  before  communion 
quite  strictly.  Tertullian  too  {circa  230)  says  that  they  received 
the  communion  "ante  omnem  cibum"  which  must  mean  "be- 
fore any  food." 

I  am  quite  sure  that  the  rule  of  fasting  communion  is  much 
older  than  a  good  many  moderate  men  like  to  acknowledge.  I 
agree  with  the  wishes  of  the  moderate,  but  the  fact  of  past  his- 
tory   and    primitive    practice    must    be    faced.      The    Canons   of 

1  The  italics  arc  the  Bishop's. 


238  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1898 

Hippolytus  c.  200  have  been  recently  re-edited  in  Germany  by 
Harnack,  in  France  by  Duchesne. 

Almost  all  scholars  agree  (about)  as  to  their  date  (200)  and 
I  do  not  think  it  can  be  reasonably  doubted.  They  assert  the 
fast  before  communion  in  two  places  —  in  the  latter  with  great 
energy. 

The  Bishop  of  Lichfield  (Dr.  Legge)  in  the  course  of 
his  letter  of  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  the  book 
touches  on  the  same  subject  though  not  critically: 

12  September,  1899.  —  You  have  most  kindly  sent  me  a  copy 
of  your  volume  on  "New  Testament  Churchmanship,"  and  I 
thank  you  not  only  for  remembering  me,  but  also  for  the  book 
itself,  which  I  have  read  with  great  interest;  and  in  which  I 
have  found  much  wholesome  reading  for  these  days.  We  want 
such  a  restatement  of  our  position  as  members  of  a  reformed 
branch  of  the  Catholic  Church  —  reformed  on  definite  principles, 
and  not  ashamed  to  acknowledge  those  principles.  Our  ad- 
vanced (so-called)  men  in  this  country,  are  far  too  apologetic 
in  their  attitude  towards  Rome;  and  too  apt  to  aim  at  introdu- 
cing practices  borrowed  from  the  Roman  Church,  and  of  quite 
modern  development,  within  her  pale.  You  show  what  really 
were  the  principles  of  the  Church  from  the  beginning,  and  how 
much  that  is  called  " catholic"  has  no  true  claim  to  the  title. 
You  bring  out  well  the  truth  that  the  Christian  life  is  the  risen 
life,  and  that  halting  at  the  Cross  is  the  error  of  both  Rome  and 
Geneva.  Your  sketch  of  the  true  order  of  service  on  Sunday  is 
very  interesting.  Its  realisation  depends  mainly  on  whether  we 
can  persuade  our  modern  high  churchmen  that  fasting  commun- 
ion is  not  in  the  stri&est  sense  of  obligation,  and  that  we  ought 
not  to  separate  the  sacrifice  from  participation  in  the  sacrifice, 
nor  worship  from  communion  in  our  Eucharist.  I  hope  that  the 
book  may  be  widely  read. 

We  are  in  troublous  times  in  the  Church  here,  and  can  only 
go  on  from  day  to  day  trusting  Christ's  own  promise,  and  be- 
lieving that  God  can  lead  us  on  through  all  our  sad  contro- 
versies and  threats  of  anarchy  to  a  purer  and  a  stronger  faith, 
and  a  truer  and  more  perfect  worship. 

The  letter  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  (Dr.  Davidson) 
is  characteristic  and  reveals  part  of  the  secret  of  his  power: 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  239 

16  August,  '99-  —  Very  cordially  do  I  thank  you  for  sending 
me  a  copy  of  your  volume  on  New  Testament  Churchmanship. 
I  am  at  this  moment  trying  to  write  a  Charge  on  some  of  the 
very  points  you  deal  with,  and  I  am  sure  of  the  help  I  shall 
draw  from  your  pages. 

The  book  was  commended  very  generally  by  his  fellow 
clergy  in  America  and  found  a  wide  reading.  It  was 
just  because  it  was  the  product  of  a  mind  and  hands 
busied  with  practical  affairs,  that  it  was  able  to  help 
men  who  could  not  be  touched  by  the  work  of  accurate 
scholars  of  the  more  academic  mould.  As  to  Bishop 
Satterlee's  views  on  fasting  communion,  he  was  not  an 
opponent  of  the  custom,  but  of  the  disproportionate 
emphasis  frequently  laid  upon  it.  In  mind  not  less  than 
body,  Bishop  Satterlee  was  well  proportioned  and  large. 
He  was  able  usually  to  be  balanced  and  yet  not  to  lack 
the  fire  that  is  ordinarily  associated  with  the  extremist 
—  an  all  too  rare  combination. 

On  Ascension  Day  (May  11)  the  corner-stone  of  the 
National  Cathedral  School  for  Girls  was  laid,  during  the 
session  of  the  Diocesan  Convention.  A  few  days  later 
Bishop  Satterlee  preached  the  baccalaureate  sermon  at 
the  General  Theological  Seminary. 

At  the  end  of  June  he  went  to  Twilight  Park,  returning 
to  Washington  for  a  short  time  for  business  connected 
with  the  Cathedral  School  building.  The  following 
entries  occur  in  his  Journal: 

July  ?.  —  Col.  A.  T.  Britton  and  I,  with  Mrs.  Phoebe  A. 
Hearst,  drove  to  the  Cathedral  grounds,  inspected  the  buildings 
of  the  School.  Mrs.  Hearst  expressed  herself  as  highly  pleased 
with  the  situation  and  progress. 

July  10. — Officiated  at  the  funeral  of  Col.  A.  T.  Britton. 
Col.  Britton  was  the  chairman  of  the  building  committee  of  the 
Cathedral  Board  of  Trustees,  and  one  of  the  most  efficient  mem- 
bers of  the  whole  Board.  His  loss  was  irreparable  to  us,  es- 
pecially at  this  time,  and  I  am  rejoiced  to  know  that  the  efforts 
of  so  noble  and  true-hearted  a  man  will  be  forever  associated 
with  the  beginnings  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 


24o  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

July  12.  —  Spent  the  rest  of  the  month  of  July  at  Twilight 
Park.  This  is  the  first  respite  I  have  had,  as  the  whole  of  the 
preceding  summer  was  occupied  in  gathering  funds  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  Cathedral  grounds.  The  Bishop  as  well  as  his 
clergy,  need  time  for  reading,  as  well  as  studying,  and  these 
days  were  invaluable,  not  only  for  this  purpose,  but  also  for 
laying  out  plans  for  the  work  of  the  coming  winter.1 

When  the  problem  of  the  Philippines  was  thrust  upon 
the  Church's  attention  by  the  outcome  of  the  Spanish 
American  War,  it  was  natural  that  the  Bishop  of  Wash- 
ington, by  virtue  of  his  life  in  the  seat  of  government 
and  his  inevitable  association  with  the  country's  states- 
men, should  give  the  matter  close  study.  In  1899  the 
two  clergy  who  were  sent  to  Manila  representing  the 
American  Church  were  placed  by  the  Presiding  Bishop 
under  the  charge  of  Bishop  Satterlee.  He  was  in  close 
touch  with  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Pierce,  Chaplain  U.  S.  Army, 
who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Church's  work  in  the 
Philippines,  and  reported  to  the  Church  at  home  condi- 
tions in  Manila  as  he  had  experienced  them. 

The  Bishop  of  Shanghai  (Dr.  Graves)  was  later  sent  by 
the  Presiding  Bishop  to  Manila  for  episcopal  ministra- 
tions in  1899.  His  report  coupled  with  those  of  the 
Bishop  of  New  York  who,  in  company  with  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Percy  S.  Grant,  stopped  at  Manila  on  a  trip  around 
the  world  the  same  year,  and  of  General  Francis  V. 
Greene,  who  had  been  in  active  service  in  the  Philip- 
pines, prepared  the  way  for  organizing  a  missionary  dis- 
trict in  this  oriental  insular  dependency.  The  foreign 
residents,  English  and  American,  were  numerous  enough 
to  necessitate  church  organization,  and  there  appeared 
to  be  a  demand  among  the  Filipinos  for  some  other  form 
of  Catholicism  than  the  Latin.  The  Roman  Catholic 
Church  had  been  a  close  corporation  in  the  Philippines, 
since  their  discovery  by  Spain  in  1521.  Until  the  Amer- 
ican occupation  state  and  church  were  united,  the  state 
being    pretty   firmly   locked    in    the    arms    of    "mother 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1900,  pp.  37,  38. 


iqoi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  241 

church.'3  The  general  moral  conditions  were  such  as 
are  always  found  where  Latin  Christianity  has  a  mo- 
nopoly. Corruption  reigned  and  the  friars  were  hated 
by  the  Filipinos.  The  Jesuits  alone  of  religious  orders 
in  the  Islands  retained  the  good-will  of  the  people.  The 
following  is  a  letter  to  Bishop  Potter  on  the  situation: 

April  1,  1900.  —  I  have  read  and  reread  your  paper  in  the 
last  Churchman  regarding  the  work  in  the  Philippines,  and  want 
to  express  to  you  the  deep  gratitude  with  which  I  perused  every 
word.  Of  course  it  comes  all  the  more  forcibly  home  from  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  result  of  the  personal  observation  of  one  who 
was  not  in  sympathy,  in  days  gone  by,  with  the  occupation  of 
these  islands  by  the  forces  of  the  United  States. 

I  myself  was  slow  to  believe  that  Chaplain  Pierce  was  the  kind 
of  man  you  have  described  him,  until  he  actually  visited  Wash- 
ington, and  I  heard  his  story  from  his  own  lips. 

Our  Church  has  indeed  a  marvellous  opportunity  in  the  Phil- 
ippines, if  ever  there  was  an  open  door  set  before  any  Church,  it 
is  this.  As  I  read  your  letter,  I  think  that  I  was  more  forcibly 
impressed  than  ever  before  with  the  rottenness  of  the  papal  sys- 
tem. Here  is  a  pope  who  professes  to  be  the  Vicar  of  Christ  on 
earth,  and  who  wields  at  least  more  ecclesiastical  power  than  any 
living  man.  Whatever  else  he  lacks,  he  certainly  exercises  spiritual 
control  over  his  clergy:  and  yet  he  has  allowed  the  Archbishop 
of  Manila  with  "the  friars"  to  practice  the  extortions  you  speak 
of  in  Luzon.  He  cannot  plead  ignorance;  as  Vicar  of  Christ 
it  was  his  sacred  obligation  to  enforce  spiritual  discipline. 

From  this  time  on  Bishop  Satterlee  threw  his  influence 
in  the  direction  of  securing  the  episcopate  for  the 
Philippines,  Cuba,  and  Porto  Rico. 

Washington's  Birthday  (February  22)  was  a  date  or- 
dained to  be  permanently  woven  into  Bishop  Satterlee's 
history.  This  year,  the  one  hundred  and  sixty-eighth 
anniversary  of  Washington's  birth,  was  marked  by  a 
public  celebration  at  which  the  President  and  Secretary 
of  State  (John  Hay)  were  present.  Bishop  Satterlee 
acted  as  chaplain.  He  was  frequently  called  upon  in  this 
way  for  patriotic  and  public  occasions. 


242  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1898 

The  close  of  the  winter  found  the  Bishop  somewhat 
jaded.  He  was  not  in  the  habit  of  complaining,  but 
the  following  excerpt  from  his  annual  address  suggests 
weariness: 

The  bishop  is,  as  we  all  know,  the  chief  pastor  of  the  dio- 
cese. Upon  him,  in  a  very  real  sense,  falls  "the  care  of  all  the 
churches";  and  no  one  knows  what  a  heavy  burden  this  is  — 
or  to  use  Bishop  Whipple's  simile,  how  "the  cords  cut  into  the 
shoulders''  —  until  he  has  actually  borne  it.1 

One  of  his  friends  not  only  noted  his  need  of  a  change 
but  generously  presented  him  with  a  trip  abroad.  He 
wrote  the  following  letter  to  Mrs.  A.  D.  Russell  in  ac- 
knowledgment of  her  gift: 

March  21,  1900.  —  How  little  did  I  dream  what  you  were 
doing  when  I  saw  you  in  New  York.  After  I  returned  home 
Mrs  Satterlee  showed  me  your  letter.  I  had  to  take  it  out  of 
her  hand  and  read  it  again  and  again  before  I  took  in  all  that 
your  generous  thought  and  self-sacrificing  care  meant. 

If  ever  I  have  felt  the  trials  and  cares  of  a  Bishop's  life,  such 
delicate  consideration  is  more  than  a  compensating  power,  and 
I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  for  such  thoughtful 
affection.  You  have  opened  out  a  new  perspective  before  me. 
I  never  dreamed  of  going  again  to  Europe  this  summer,  and  do 
not  know  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary:  but  if,  through  you, 
this  is  a  providential  opening  or  indication  of  what  I  ought  to 
do  for  the  sake  of  health  and  future  work,  I  shall  most  gratefully 
accept  your  gift.  I  must  just  find  out  what  my  American  phy- 
sicians say,  for  those  German  doctors  think  that  the  only  specific 
on  earth  is  their  German  baths.  I  tried  to  see  my  doctor  but 
he  is  away.  I  have  written  to  him  and  waited  three  days  for 
his  answer,  and  now  I  cannot  wait  a  moment  longer  in  sending 
off  this  letter  to  you.  I  shall  write  again  as  soon  as  I  know 
what  I  am  to  do.  I  wish  I  could  express  what  is  inexpressible. 
I  can  only  say  —  can  only  pray  —  God  bless  you  for  all  you 
have  done  to  make  the  life  and  work  of  the  first  Bishop  of  Wash- 
ington, stronger,  more  courageous,  and,  I  trust,  more  efFe&ive 
for  the  Church. 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1900,  p.  30. 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  243 

He  spent  the  summer  in  Europe  with  his  family, 
attending  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel.  In  his  Diocesan 
Convention  just  concluded,  he  had  referred  to  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Society  and  its  early  work: 

It  is  of  interest  to  know  that  this  now  venerable  society  grew 
out  of  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  American  plantations,  and  that 
its  institution  was  brought  about,  in  the  main,  by  a  clergyman 
who  will  be  lastingly  identified  with  the  history  of  Maryland  — 
who  was,  in  fad,  himself  the  commissary  of  the  Church  to 
Maryland,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Bray. 

Beginning  at  Maryland  and  in  Missionary  stations,  which 
are  now  venerable  historic  parishes,  represented  in  this  very 
Diocesan  Convention,  the  work  of  this  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  kept  quietly  growing  and  expanding,  from 
colony  to  colony,  from  land  to  land,  from  continent  to  continent, 
until  now  at  the  end  of  two  hundred  years,  it  covers  the  whole 
earth.1 

Once  more  and  for  the  last  time  he  saw  the  Passion 
Play  at  Oberammergau.  About  this  time  men  all  over 
the  world  were  breathless  with  suspense  as  to  the  outcome 
of  the  "Boxer*  uprising  in  China,  and  he  shared  in  the 
"intense  anxiety"  of  the  moment. 

As  soon  as  he  returned  to  America  he  gave  his  atten- 
tion to  the  Cathedral  School  which  was  about  to  open. 
He  had  secured  a  staff,  and  a  guarantee  fund  to  cover 
any  deficit  in  the  running  expenses  for  the  first  two  years. 
The  School  opened  auspiciously  on  the  first  of  October. 

In  1898  Princeton  University  had  asked  him  to  make 
the  address  on  Commemoration  Day.  He  was  obliged 
to  decline  as  it  conflicted  with  his  obligation  to  General 
Convention.  This  year,  the  one  hundred  and  fifty-fourth 
commemoration  of  the  foundation  of  the  University, 
he  was  again  invited  to  give  the  address  and  was  able 
to  accept.  He  chose  for  his  topic  the  "Ethics  of  Amer- 
ican Civilization. "  He  dealt  with  the  sanctity  of  citizen- 
ship,   defending    universal    suffrage    against    Mr.    Lecky's 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1900,  p.  33. 


244  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1898 

strictures;  with  public  office  as  a  public  trust;  and  with 
the  subordination  of  party  loyalty  to  patriotism.  The 
most  striking  part  of  the  address  is  in  the  closing  para- 
graphs, in  which  he  treats  of  the  United  States  as  a 
world  power,  freighted  with  the  responsibility  of  admin- 
istering dependencies: 

Within  the  past  three  years,  most  unexpected  events  have 
followed  fast  upon  one  another,  each  one  of  which  is  pregnant 
with  historic  significance.  If  in  1896  some  prophet  had  arisen 
among  us  to  foretell  what  has  actually  occurred  since  the  battles 
of  Manila  and  Santiago,  we  should  have  treated  his  words  as 
beyond  the  bounds  of  historic  possibility.  It  is  as  though  God 
had  lifted  our  whole  nation  up,  long  before  its  own  education 
was  completed,  and  set  it  in  the  vanguard  of  the  march  of 
Civilization  —  as  though  the  veil  had  suddenly  been  torn  aside, 
for  a  divine  purpose,  that  we  might  rise  to  the  responsibilities 
of  the  international  position  we  really  occupy. 

In  the  light  of  those  stupendous  events,  one  thing  is  positive. 
We  can  no  longer  cling  to  the  same  isolated  position  among  the 
nations  that  we  formerly  rejoiced  in.  The  United  States  of 
to-day  cannot  go  back  to  what  the  country  was  fifty  or  an 
hundred  years  ago.  Whether  we  will  or  no,  whether  for  better 
or  worse,  the  die  is  cast  and  we  must  go  forward. 

We  hear  in  these  days  a  great  deal  about  "imperialism."  I 
see  no  spirit  of  imperialism  in  all  American  history,  and  least 
of  all  in  the  past  two  years.  The  nation  has  less  greed  for  terri- 
tory to-day,  than  when  Jefferson  bought  Louisiana,  or  Monroe, 
Florida,  or  Seward,  Alaska  —  and  far  less  than  there  was  when 
the  annexation  of  Texas  brought  on  the  Mexican  War.  We  had 
no  thought  whatever  of  territorial  aggrandizement  when  we  went 
to  war  with  Spain,  and  now  —  before  we  had  time  to  realize 
the  full  meaning  of  passing  events  —  certain  islands  as  the 
result  of  that  war,  have  become,  de  faflo,  an  actual  part  of  the 
United  States.  We  cannot  go  back,  if  we  would,  for  we  have 
become  legally,  as  well  as  morally,  responsible  to  the  whole  world 
for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  in  those  islands.  It  is 
well,  indeed,  that  the  cries  of  "  imperialism "  should  rend  the 
air  to-day,  for  they  serve  as  warnings  against  very  real  dangers 
which  encompass  every  onward  step,  as  our  country  endeavors 
to  keep   pace  with  the  growing  civilization  of  the  world;    but 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  245 

while  it  behooves  our  wisest  statesmen  to  give  earnest  heed  to 
the  wisdom  of  the  past  —  and  especially  its  oft  repeated  cautions 
regarding  entangling  foreign  alliances  —  we  cannot  measure  the 
new  conditions  of  the  present,  by  the  maxims  and  standards  of 
the  past.  The  greatest  danger  of  all  is  the  peril  of  an  arrested 
development.  Whatever  has  life  must  grow,  or  it  must  decay. 
If,  on  the  one  hand,  there  is  danger  of  departing  from  the  origi- 
nal ideal  of  American  civilization,  on  the  other,  there  is  the  equally 
imminent  danger  of  becoming  shortsighted  in  our  views  of  our 
country's  future,  of  failing  to  read  the  signs  of  the  times;  —  of 
failing  to  realize  the  actual  historic  situation,  as  it  stands  to-day. 
Thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  a  wise  and  farseeing  man,  who  had 
risen  to  a  position  of  great  prominence,  not  only  in  Europe 
but  in  America,  said  to  his  now  still  more  distinguished  son: 
"Whatever  happens  in  the  future  or  however  important  an 
issue  may  be,  never  take  sides  against  the  United  States."  And 
then,  in  response  to  the  earnest  look  of  inquiry  on  the  young 
man's  face,  he  added,  with  deep  feeling,  "Because  —  God  is 
behind  America."  1 

He  believed  that  America  could  be  shaken  out  of  her 
self-conceit  and  provincialism  only  by  such  responsi- 
bilities as  had  been  thrust  upon  her. 

In  December  within  two  weeks  he  lost  two  staunch 
friends  by  death,  General  John  G.  Parke  and  Mrs. 
Percy    R.    Pyne. 

The  Diocese  sustained  a  great  loss  last  winter  in  the  death 
of  General  John  G.  Parke,  who  was  not  only  an  officer  of  dis- 
tinguished ability  in  the  United  States  Army,  but  who  was  also 
one  of  the  most  prominent  churchmen  of  this  new  Diocese  in 
Washington  at  the  time  of  its  formation.  As  one  of  the  original 
trustees  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Cathedral  Foundation  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  for  many  years  its  valued  secre- 
tary, Gen.  Parke's  name  will  be  identified  for  all  coming  time 
with  the  beginnings  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 
Would  that  we  had  more  laymen  like  him  in  our  American  Church.2 

Under  date  of  December  31  he  says  of  Mrs.  Pyne  in 
his  Journal: 

1  "Ethics  of  American  Civilization'1  2  Diocesan  Journal,  p.  191,  360. 


246  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1898 

December  31.  —  I  shall  never  forget  the  debt  of  gratitude  this 
new  Diocese  owes  to  Mrs.  Pyne,  not  only  for  her  deep  interest 
in  its  welfare  and  growth,  but  also  for  many  substantial  tokens 
of  her  sympathy,  not  the  least  of  which  was  a  gift  of  $15,000 
towards  purchasing  the  Cathedral  grounds.1 

Mrs.  Pyne's  confidence  in  the  Bishop  was  implicit  and 
he  never  appealed  to  her  in  vain  for  assistance  in  his 
undertakings,  either  at  Calvary  or  in  Washington. 

During  the  year  Bishop  Satterlee  was  called  upon  to 
preach  memorial  sermons  over  the  rulers  of  two  great 
nations  —  England  and  America.  The  official  memorial 
service  for  Queen  Victoria  was  held  at  St.  John's  Church, 
Washington,  on  February  2,  1901,  and  was  attended  by 
the  President  and  the  Cabinet  together  with  other  rep- 
resentatives of  the  American  government.  Lord  Paunce- 
fote,  the  British  Ambassador,  and  his  staff  were  present 
with  the  entire  Diplomatic  Corps.  Bishop  Satterlee 
gave  the  address  in  the  course  of  which  he  said: 

To  the  English  nation  her  Majesty,  with  the  sceptre  of  the 
British  Empire  in  her  hand,  was  first  the  sovereign  then  the 
woman.  To  the  people  of  other  lands,  she  was  first  the  woman 
and  then  the  queen  —  an  example  of  true  womanhood  and 
royalty,  so  harmoniously  blended  together  into  one,  that,  by 
God's  good  help,  she  was  able  to  transform  those  insidious  temp- 
tations to  evil  which  encompass  every  royal  palace  into  oppor- 
tunities for  doing  good:  and  so  to  live  for  three  score  years, 
under  the  fierce  light  which  beats  upon  a  throne,  that  all  people 
are  rising  up  with  her  own  children  to  call  her  blessed.  ...  In 
her  life  as  a  queen  she  has  shown  the  world  that  even  on  a 
royal  throne  character  is  the  noblest  of  all  human  possessions.2 

There  was  nothing  singular  in  what  the  Bishop  said. 
It  was  proclaimed  in  varying  terms  in  every  pulpit 
where  the  late  Queen's  name  was  mentioned.  No 
greater  tribute  could  be  paid  her  memory  than  to  point 
to  the  universality  of  the  recognition  of  the  obvious. 
It  is  character  that  reigns. 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  p.  45. 

2  From  the  Washington  Evening  Star,  February  2,  1901. 


1901]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  247 

A  little  more  than  a  year  later  Bishop  Satterlee  was 
called  upon  to  read  the  Burial  Service  over  Lord  Paunce- 
fote,  who  had  long  been  Dean  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps. 

It  is  anticipating  events  a  little  to  refer  at  this  juncture 
to  the  assassination  in  Buffalo  of  President  McKinley, 
who  died  from  his  wound  on  September  14  of  this  year, 
but  it  is  opportune  to  think  of  his  demise  side  by  side 
with  that  of  the  British  sovereign.  Bishop  Satterlee  had 
deep  confidence  in  and  admiration  for  President  Mc- 
Kinley. One  thing  he  always  was  at  pains  to  arrange 
for  the  representatives  of  church  societies  and  other 
organizations  that  frequently  gathered  in  Washington, 
and  that  was,  presentation  to  the  President.  No  Presi- 
dent could  have  been  more  lavish  with  his  time  in  this 
respect  than  President  McKinley.  It  was  the  very 
friendliness  of  the  man  that  earned  him  both  the  love 
of  the  common  folk  and  his  tragic  end.  At  the  memorial 
service  for  the  "  martyred  "  President  at  the  pro-Cathedral 
the  Bishop  said  with  passion: 

The  scene  of  that  black  Friday,  Sept.  6,  marks  one  of  the 
foulest  ads  of  treachery  the  world  has  ever  known.  We  wel- 
come the  stranger  to  our  American  shores.  We  bid  him  God 
speed,  as  he  becomes  one  of  us;  and  in  return  he  slays  our  chief. 
Henceforth  the  symbol  of  the  anarchist  will  be  an  outstretched 
hand  of  friendship  grasping,  under  the  pure  white  cloak  of 
loyalty  and  patriotism,  an  assassin's  weapon. 

In  view  of  the  Bishop's  own  last  words  on  his  death- 
bed there  is  more  than  ordinary  significance  in  his 
reference  to  McKinley's  farewell  to  earth: 

What  are  all  the  poor  laurels  of  mere  worldly  success  beside 
the  triumph  of  that  deathbed  scene?  He,  our  revered  leader  and 
chief,  died  not  only  as  a  martyr  for  his  country  but  as  a  Chris- 
tian confessor,  whose  ruling  passion,  strong  in  death,  outpoured 
itself  in  that  stalwart  cry  of  an  undying  faith:  "Thy  will  be 
done.     Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee." 

In  death,  as  in  life,  out  of  the  fulness  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh. 


248  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

The  Feast  of  the  Annunciation  (March  25)  marked 
the  fifth  anniversary  of  his  consecration.  On  that  day 
he  received  the  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  A. 
Mackay-Smith,  Redlor  of  St.  John's  Church,  Washington: 

March  25,  igoi.  —  Please  accept  these  few  flowers  from  Vir- 
ginia and  me  with  hearty  congratulations  on  this  happy  anni- 
versary. .  .  . 

I  think  you  must  be  glad  now  that  you  became  our  Bishop, 
for  the  record  has  been  a  noble  one,  and  promises  still  more 
beautifully  for  the  future.  Our  Woman's  Auxiliary  adopted 
resolutions  this  morning,  which  will  be  forwarded  you  in  due 
season,  pledging  their  loyal  support  and  offering  hearty  thanks 
and  good  wishes.  You  have  a  united  clergy,  a  strong  laity,  and 
a  host  of  friends  —  and  best  of  all,  a  lot  of  problems  to  grapple 
with,  to  which  by  God's  grace  you  will  be  equal.  What  more 
could  a  good  Bishop  ask? 

It  has  been  truly  said  that  he  who  ventures  to  organize 
schools  lays  up  for  himself  a  peck  of  troubles.  Bishop 
Satterlee  did  not  escape  the  penalty  of  his  temerity. 
Financial  worry  in  connection  with  the  Cathedral  School 
for  Girls  having  been  alleviated,  other  worries  followed, 
though  in  the  end  the  School  triumphed.  Writing  to 
Miss  M.  W.  Bruce  on  June  15  he  said: 

The  hardest  trial  that  we  have  had  this  year,  was  not  in  a 
pecuniary  way,  but  it  was  an  educational  ordeal.  Both  I  my- 
self and  the  principals  have  been  assured  that  no  Church  school 
on  a  religious  basis  could  take  its  stand  side  by  side  with  the 
best  educational  institutions  in  America. 

Now  I  understand  what  was  meant.  Just  because  I  am  a 
clergyman,  and  supposed  to  be  actuated  by  benevolent  feelings, 
and  the  principals  are  religious  ladies,  we  have  had  appeals 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  from  parents  and  guardians,  to 
be  less  stricl:  in  our  rules  and  also  the  standard  of  excellence, 
and  the  higher  in  social  position  these  parents  and  guardians 
were,  the  more  importunate  became  their  demands,  but  Miss 
Bangs  and  Miss  Whiton  are  ladies  of  great  decision  of  character. 

I  have  tried  to  stand  faithfully  behind  them.  We  have  had 
no  end  of  criticism,  gossip  and  obloquy  thrown  upon  the  school 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  249 

during  the  past  year,  for  its  strict  rules,  even  Town  Topics  had 
its  fling  at  us,  but  we  have  come  triumphantly  through  every- 
thing and  the  school  has  now,  I  am  glad  to  say  in  the  first 
years  of  its  existence,  taken  its  stand  and  its  place  among  the 
foremost  educational  institutions  for  girls  in  America,  and  it  is 
far,  far  in  advance  of  any  other  in  the  City  of  Washington. 

Ascension  Day  was  one  of  the  Bishop's  select  festivals 
which  he  marked  in  various  ways  as  opportunity  was 
given.  This  year  the  Glastonbury  Cathedra,  to  which 
further  notice  will  be  given  in  the  chapters  on  the  Cathe- 
dral, was  formally  dedicated  by  him. 

For  a  long  time  he  had  been  greatly  exercised  over  the 
apathy  of  the  Church  at  large  concerning  her  missionary 
responsibility.  As  the  fiscal  year  drew  to  a  close  it 
was  evident  that  there  was  to  be  no  abatement  of  the 
annual  deficit,  so  he  set  to  work  to  study  statistically 
the  whole  situation  in  preparation  for  an  open  letter. 
He  was  advocating  a  change  of  the  missionary  canon  at 
the  coming  General  Convention,  but  he  felt  that  mere 
legislation  could  not  mend  the  case.  As  a  member  of 
a  special  committee  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Managers 
he  had  done  what  was  possible  through  this  agency  to 
awake  slumberers.  Now,  on  the  eve  of  General  Conven- 
tion, he  was  constrained  to  express  his  mind  in  fervent 
terms.  As  his  letters  and  public  utterances  as  diocesan 
show,  he  counted  himself  in  the  ultimate  analysis  re- 
sponsible for  the  missionary  health  of  his  people,  and 
was  able  as  a  doer  of  the  word  to  exhort  his  brethren  of 
the  episcopate.  He  had  some  interesting  correspondence 
with  the  editor  of  the  Churchman  (Mr.  Silas  McBee) 
bearing  on  the  subject: 

TO   MR.   MCBEE 

August  8,  iqoj.  —  I  have  just  received  your  letter  stating 
that  my  "open  letter"  will  be  published  next  week.  Perhaps 
this  is  just  as  well,  only  I  wanted  all  the  Church  papers  to 
which  I  sent  it  to  receive  it  simultaneously  by  the  same  mail. 
The  delay  in  publishing  it  will  give  an  opportunity  for  consider- 


25o  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1898 

ing  and  criticising  it.  While  I  feel  very  strongly,  after  long 
thought,  that  the  plan  I  propose  of  nailing  the  responsibility 
for  aggressive  missionary  work  to  the  bishops,  whether  they 
want  it  or  no,  I  shall  welcome  any  adverse  criticisms  to  the 
plan  that  may  "hold  water,"  something,  in  some  way,  must  be 
done.  It  is  useless  to  criticise  the  Board  of  Managers  or  the 
General  Secretary,  for  evil  which  they  are  powerless  to  cure. 
There  must  be  a  radical  change  in  our  whole  administration  of 
missionary  work,  and  that  change  must  begin  at  the  fountain 
head.  It  is  absolutely  appalling  this  present  apathy  of  our 
church  to  Missions.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  There  never  was  such  a  clarion  call  from  God  to  our 
Church  to  be  up  and  doing.  There  has  never  been  a  greater 
period  of  wicked  apathy  and  stagnation  of  missionary  interest 
throughout  the  Church  than  there  is  to-day.  The  Board  of  Mana- 
gers have  cried  "Wolf"  so  often  regarding  the  annual  deficit 
that  the  Church  has  ceased  to  listen.  I  beseech  you,  do  what 
you  can,  do  what  you  can  to  stir  up  this  question.  I  surely 
believe  that  a  judgment  from  God  will  fall  on  our  Church,  if 
she  sleeps  while  He  is  calling  so  loudly. 

In  a  later  letter  he  added: 

TO     MR.     MCBEE 

August  10,  iqoi.  —  Thanks  for  your  cheering  response  to 
my  letter.  I  care  not  whether  comments  upon  the  open  letter 
of  mine  be  for  or  against.  After  a  great  deal  of  thought  I  have 
come  to  a  certain  conclusion,  if  that  conclusion  is  wrong,  I 
shall  be  grateful  to  be  set  right. 

The  one  thing  needful  is  increase  of  interest  in,  and  support 
of,  our  missionary  work.  I  am  compelled  to  differ  from  you  in 
thinking  that  the  Church  is  doing  all  she  can.  I  feel  she  has 
not  begun  to  realize  the  tremendous  responsibility  our  Lord 
has  laid  upon  her.  Let  us  not  cry  peace,  peace,  when  there  is 
no  peace. 

Mr.  McBee  said  in  reply,  touching  the  Bishop's  open 
letter: 

September  17,  iqoi. — Your  letter  of  September  16  finds  me 
overwhelmed  with  work  getting  the  paper  to  press,  but  I  cannot 
delay  a  moment  an  expression  of  my  appreciation  of  it,  or  to 
speak   more   accurately,   my   appreciation   of  the   facl:   that   the 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  251 

Church  has  a  Bishop  whose  singleness  of  purpose  rises  above  the 
atmosphere  of  opinion,  and  seeks  only  and  wholly  the  extension 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Our  Lord. 

No  change  was  made  in  the  missionary  organization 
of  the  Church  in  the  General  Convention  of  1901,  the 
whole  question  being  relegated  to  a  committee  to  report 
three  years  hence.  The  free  discussion  resulted  in  an 
added  interest,  and  the  appointment  by  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  district  secretaries  for  propagandist  purposes 
in  connection  with  the  system  of  apportionment. 

Bishop  Satterlee  sat  in  the  House  of  Bishops  in  four 
General  Conventions.  He  was  always  among  the  most 
industrious  and  interested  of  the  bishops,  fertile  in  sug- 
gestion, progressive  in  temper  and  a  valuable  committee 
man.  It  was  largely  due  to  the  pressure  of  his  unwav- 
ering conviction  of  the  world-wide  vocation  of  his  Church, 
that  action  was  taken  at  the  General  Convention  of  1901 
toward  missionary  expansion.  His  position  in  Wash- 
ington, as  we  have  seen,  kept  before  him  the  fact  and 
the  responsibility  of  our  insular  dependencies.  As  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  he  advocated  the 
position  published  in  their  Triennial  Report: 

The  Managers  are  not  disposed  to  raise  the  vexed  question  of 
what  some  people  are  inclined  to  count  intrusion,  into  countries 
claimed  by  the  Roman  Communion  as  owing  allegiance  to  the 
Bishop  of  Rome.  The  policy  of  this  Church  is  plainly  and  posi- 
tively settled  now.  It  takes  in  the  oversight  of  the  struggling 
native  Church  in  Mexico,  the  mission  planted  in  the  Island  of 
Cuba,  and,  more  recently,  the  sending  of  priests  to  Porto  Rico 
and  Manila  to  preach  the  pure  Gospel,  to  administer  the  Sacra- 
ments on  the  primitive  terms  of  communion,  and  to  set  the 
example  of  a  higher  morality  in  the  priesthood  and  among  the 
people.1 

In  General  Convention  Bishop  Satterlee  and  Bishop 
Potter  took  the  lead  in  providing  for  the  spiritual  needs 
of  our  insular  dependencies,   and   bishops  of  Porto   Rico 

1  Journal  of  General  Convention,  1901,  pp.  408,  409. 


252  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

and  the  Philippines  were  elected,  Cuba  for  the  time  being 
placed  under  the  supervision  of  the  Presiding  Bishop. 

It  was  during  the  progress  of  this  Convention  that 
Bishop  Satterlee  made  the  following  entry  in  his  Journal 
(October  2,  1901): 

The  General  Convention  is  a  safeguard  to  the  whole  American 
Church  on  account  of  its  conservatism.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
this  will  always  be  its  predominant  characteristic,  and  yet  such 
conservatism  necessitates  a  tone  directly  opposite  to  that  which 
is  required  for  the  aggressive  work  of  the  Church's  Mission  at 
home  and  abroad. 

The  Bishop's  faith  and  consequent  spirit  of  adventure 
that  is  not  daunted  by  risk  if  some  great  goal  is  visible, 
saved  him  from  dead  conservatism. 

His  industry  is  delightfully  illustrated  by  another 
entry  in  his  Journal: 

This  afternoon  I  went  from  2  to  5  o'clock  to  the  Cliff  House  to 
see  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but  had  to  hurry  back  to  the  city  for  a 
committee  meeting.  This  half  of  an  afternoon  is  the  only  time 
I  had  to  myself  during  our  whole  stay  in  San  Francisco.1 

It  is  safe  to  infer  that  the  Bishop's  one  glimpse  of  the 
great  Pacific  stirred  him.  He  was  looking  at  something 
more  than  the  vast  expanse  of  restless  blue.  He  saw 
islands  and  continents  and  men  —  the  Hawaiian  and  Phil- 
ippine Islands  in  their  tropic  beauty,  where  the  Church 
of  the  nation  had  new  and  vexing  problems;  Japan  and 
China  with  their  millions  of  unevangelized  people  calling 
in  the  dumb  appeal  of  their  need  to  the  Christian  world 
for  light  and  life. 

To  him  the  Pacific  was  not  an  ocean  of  separation  that 
divided  continent  from  continent  and  allotted  respon- 
sibilities, separating  here  from  there.  Rather  was  it  an 
ocean  of  union,  tying  together  the  ends  of  the  earth  and 
calling  nation  to  nation  into  co-operative,  understanding 
fellowship   and   mutual  service.     The  moment  visualized 

1  Journal,  p.  50. 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  253 

for  him  the  Church's  missionary  duty,  on  behalf  of  which 
he  returned  to  General  Convention  to  plead.  It  is 
interesting  to  find  the  closing  entry  (October  17):  of  his 
Journal  referring  again  to  its  conservatism: 

The  Convention  adjourned  this  afternoon,  and  although  its 
work  has  been  a  disappointment  to  many  on  account  of  its  con- 
servatism, nevertheless,  as  it  is  remembered  in  history,  the 
Convention  of  San  Francisco  in  1901  will  be  found,  I  am  sure, 
to  have  done  a  valuable  and  helpful  work  for  the  advancement 
of  the  Church. 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Rives,  written  in  San  Francisco, 
he  gives  some  account  of  the  proceedings: 

Odober  <5,  igoi.  —  The  Convention  is  settling  down  to  work 
well.  Yesterday  (Saturday)  the  Lower  House  had  already  passed 
several  articles  of  the  Constitution  and  divided  the  Diocese  of 
Massachusetts.  The  House  of  Bishops  has  done  even  better. 
It  has  adopted  the  Marginal  Readings.  Of  course  there  were 
the  old  objections  advanced  by  the  old  Bourbons,  but  after  three 
hours  debate,  the  report  was  adopted  by  a  large  majority.  It 
seems  very  strange  to  see  Bishop  Dudley  as  chairman,  and 
Bishop  Doane  in  his  old  seat.  Dudley  was  the  only  candidate 
and  he  was  unanimously  elected.  I  think  it  was  hard  for  Doane 
to  give  up,  but  there  was  the  law.  He  could  not  be  re-elected. 
The  House  of  Bishops  has  also  passed  the  articles  of  the  Con- 
stitution adopted  by  the  House  of  Deputies,  and  I  am  devoutly 
thankful  to  say  that  it  has  created  the  Philippines,  Porto  Rico 
and  Hawaii  each  into  a  Missionary  District.  .  .  . 

What  a  cause  of  deep  thankfulness  it  should  be  that  the 
Philippines  will  now  most  probably  have  a  bishop  of  their  own! 
Mexico,  as  an  independent  Church,  has  petitioned  the  Conven- 
tion to  give  it  three  bishops,  and  has  nominated  Forrester, 
Carrion  and  Orellana.  I  think  the  petition  will  be  granted.  The 
last  thing  the  House  of  Bishops  did  yesterday  was  to  concur 
with  the  other  House  in  dividing  the  Diocese  of  Massachusetts. 

After  a  great  deal  of  consideration  I  made  a  motion  in  the 
Board  of  Missions,  not  the  General  Convention,  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  of  fifteen  to  consider  and  report  upon 
such  changes  in  the  Missionary  Canon  as  will  make  the  work 
more  effectual.  .  .  .  The  committee  I  suggested  was  appointed. 


254  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

.  .  .  We  have  had  several  enthusiastic  meetings.  I  hope  the 
Committee  of  Fifteen  will  present  a  unanimous  report  and  if 
they  do,  the  outlook  will  be  very  favorable.  They  have  not 
only  taken  my  draft  of  a  canon  as  a  model,  but  have  made  even 
more  radical  changes  in  it  than  I  dared  hope  for. 

It  has  a  far  better  chance  for  a  full  and  free  discussion  in  the 
Board  of  Missions  than  it  would  have  in  the  icy  General  Con- 
vention. Then  if  the  Board  recommends  it,  the  Convention  will 
undoubtedly  ratify,  or  rather  follow,  the  recommendation.  This 
is  God's  work,  I  believe  our  prayers  are  going  to  be  answered 
though,  of  course,  none  can  say  yet.  But  whether  we  succeed 
or  fail  a  great  discussion  on  missions  is  launched,  deep  interest 
will  be  evoked,  and  whatever  betide,  the  missionary  cause  will 
be  the  gainer.  In  our  present  plan,  a  bishop  will  be  elected  by 
the  House  of  Bishops  to  be  head  of  the  missionary  work  (prob- 
ably Bishop  Dudley  or  Bishop  Doane).  The  quorum  will  consist 
not  of  a  majority  of  the  bishops  but  a  majority  of  dioceses, 
whether  represented  by  Bishops,  priests  or  laymen,  and  this 
Board  of  Missions  will  meet  annually  with  full  power  to  act 
and  direct  the  Board  of  Managers.  There  will  be  a  scheme  of 
apportionment  (5%  on  current  expenses  of  all  parishes)  and 
the  bishops  will  be  obliged  to  report  annually  all  contributing 
and  non-contributing  parishes  in  their  dioceses.  It  will  be  a 
splendid  advance  and  give  a  great  impetus  to  all  the  missionary 
work  of  the  church  if  it  be  adopted.  I  am  to  speak  on  the 
Cathedral  in  Trinity  Church  next  Sunday  morning  and  after- 
ward to  have  I  hope  a  meeting  of  a  California  Committee  on 
the  National  Cathedral. 

The  Bishop  and  his  family  were  called  back  from  the 
West  hurriedly  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Satterlee's  sister- 
in-law,  referred  to  in  the  following  letter  to  Mrs.  Russell 
in  acknowledgment  of  a  gift  for  the  Cathedral: 

TO   MRS.    RUSSELL 

November  5,  igoi.  —  When  you  sent  your  kind  letter  to  me, 
I  had  already  left  home  for  the  General  Convention  at  San 
Francisco,  and  this  is  the  cause  of  my  delay  in  responding. 

I  wish  I  could  have  been  at  Washington  on  your  dear  mother's 
birthday  to  receive  the  gift,  which  you  and  your  brothers  united  in 
sending  to  the  Cathedral  of  Washington   for  its   altar,   but  as 


i9oi]  VISIONS  AND  TASKS  255 

this  was  impossible  may  we  not  unite,  in  making  the  intention 
stand  for  the  deed;  and  date  the  sending  and  the  receiving 
and  the  record  of  the  beginning  of  the  work,  on  your  mother's 
birthday?  Certainly,  that  is  the  time  that  I  myself  shall  ever 
think  of  and  associate  with  "place  of  the  altar"  —  to  use  the 
Bible  phrase. 

We  were  sent  for  very  unexpectedly  after  the  General  Conven- 
tion was  over.  Mrs.  Satterlee,  with  Constance  and  myself, 
were  in  the  cars  at  Los  Angeles  when  a  telegram  was  handed 
us  announcing  the  death  of  Mrs.  Satterlee's  invalid  sister,  Mrs. 
Churchill.  Of  course  we  took  the  next  train  for  New  York,  and 
it  was  a  great  relief  to  us  to  reach  home  in  time  for  the  funeral 
at  Calvary  Church. 

Just  before  Christmas  he  published  his  book  on  The 
Building  of  a  Cathedral,  which  he  had  been  writing  during 
hours  snatched  from  his  crowded  life  during  the  fall. 

The  last  letter  of  the  year  was  to  Mrs.  Russell: 

TO    MRS.    RUSSELL 

New  Tears  Eve,  IQOI.  —  Thank  you  ever  so  much  for  your 
beautiful  Cathedral  Kalendar.  It  is  here  before  me  while  I 
am  writing.  Somehow  these  Cathedrals  of  old  England,  so  full 
of  mingled  sacred  and  historic  memories,  have  always  to  me 
brought  the  kind  of  inspiration  which  one  so  often  feels  in  gaz- 
ing upon  a  landscape.  In  the  one  case  God's  thought  comes  to 
us  through  man,  in  the  other  through  nature.  And  looking 
down  from  the  walls  of  my  library  upon  me,  as  I  write,  are 
your  beautiful  etchings  of  Canterbury  and  Lincoln,  bringing 
back  memories  of  the  baptismal  service  of  your  child.  So  you 
see,  I  am  surrounded  by  reminders  of  you  and  yours.  And  out 
on  the  Cathedral  grounds  there  will  soon  be  another  reminder 
still.  I  have  not  forgotten  what  you  wrote  last  September  about 
the  Little  Sanctuary  and  All  Hallows'  Gate,  in  which  the  Jeru- 
salem Altar  and  Glastonbury  Cathedra  will  be  placed. 

This  building,  standing  on  the  site  of  the  future  Cathedral, 
will  be  the  only  representative  of  that  great  House  of  Prayer 
until  the  latter  is  erected;  in  it,  services  will  at  once  be  held 
at  the  Cathedral  altar,  and  the  memory  of  this  building  will 
live  as  long  as  the  world  lasts.  I  shall  always  associate  it 
with   your  dear  mother  and  her  children.     I  love  to  think  how 


256  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1898 

those  who  have  gone  before  us  are  with  us  in  spirit  in  times  like 
these. 

This  is  the  last  letter  that  I  shall  write  in  a.d.  1901,  for,  in 
one  hour's  time,  the  bells  will  begin  to  "ring  out  the  old,  ring 
in  the  new,"  and  as  we  go  right  onward  in  God's  pathway,  walk- 
ing by  faith  and  not  by  sight,  we  are  not  alone.  In  Christ,  we 
and  our  dear  ones  who  have  gone  before  are  all  one.  The  same 
hopes  and  memories  that  we  have,  they  once  shared  with  us. 
And  it  must  be  that  those  memories  abide  with  them,  and  that 
all  the  while  they  are  mingling  their  prayers  with  ours  to  Him, 
whose  arm  is  around  us  all. 

This  letter  bears  from  house  to  house,  our  warmest  greetings 
for  the  New  Year.  May  God  bless  and  keep  you  all  through 
the  coming  days. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

INVISIBLE    FOUNDATIONS 

I 902- I 904 

0  could  I  tell  ye  surely  would  believe  it! 
O  could  I  only  say  what  I  have  seen! 
How  should  I  tell  or  how  can  ye  receive  it, 
How,  till  he  bringeth  you  where  I  have  been? 

Therefore,  0  Lord,  I  will  not  fail  nor  falter, 
Nay  but  I  ask  it,  nay  but  I  desire, 
Lay  on  my  lips  Thine  embers  of  the  altar, 
Seal  with  the  sting  and  furnish  with  the  fire. 

F.    W.    H.    MYERS 

BISHOP  SATTERLEE  was  a  pronounced  Sabbatarian. 
His  conception  of  the  consecration  of  Sunday  to 
purposes  of  worship  and  rest  compelled  him  to 
set  a  high  standard  for  himself  and  others.  He  spoke  in 
frequent  protest  against  any  deflection  from  devout 
Sunday  observance.  On  the  rock  of  Sabbatarianism  the 
Church  Temperance  Society  nearly  split.  Had  it  not 
been  for  Bishop  Satterlee's  good  judgment,  which  sub- 
ordinated the  lesser  issue  to  the  greater,  it  would  have 
gone  into  limbo  at  least.  The  Society  in  an  indiscreet 
resolution  both  took  a  position  of  uncompromising  hos- 
tility to  Sunday  opening  of  saloons  and  cast  a  slur  on 
citizens  who  failed  to  be  aggressive  in  the  matter.  There 
was  a  difference  of  opinion  among  the  members,  a  shower 
of  resignations  was  threatened  and  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee tottered.  Everyone  turned  to  Bishop  Satterlee 
who  took  his  stand  in  the  breach.  In  a  letter  to  Bishop 
Doane,  written  after  he  had  attended  a  meeting  at 
which  he  hoped  his  presence  "had  some  influence/'  he 
says: 


258  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1902 

TO    BISHOP  DOANE 

Jan.  75,  IQ02.  —  Graham  *  is  very  much  depressed,  and  thinks 
that  we  have  come  to  the  end  of  the  C.  T.  S.,  but  I  take  an 
entirely  different  view.  The  society  is  formed  on  such  a  broad 
basis  as  to  reconcile  conflicting  views  and  unite  them  on  the 
general  principle  of  temperance,  and  I  think  the  present  time  is 
a  splendid  opportunity  to  illustrate  this  broad  basis. 

At  the  meeting  yesterday  the  enclosed  resolution  was  adopted. 
If  you  will  compare  this  paper  with  the  printed  slip,  you  will 
see  exactly  what  the  resolution  means. 

First.  It  reaffirms  the  principle  of  the  C.  T.  S.  as  opposed 
to  the  Sunday  opening  of  saloons. 

Second.  It  does  not  reaffirm  the  very  objectionable  phrase, 
which  I  have  underscored,  and  which  casts  a  slur  upon  those 
members  of  the  Society  who  do  not  stoutly  resist  the  movement 
toward  the  opening  of  saloons. 

Third.  It  leaves  members  perfectly  free  to  follow  the  dictates 
of  their  own  conscience,  regarding  the  Sunday  opening  of  saloons 
or  closing,  without  their  being  considered  disloyal  to  the  Society. 

Personally  I  feel  that  I  can  under  these  circumstances  retain 
my  position  in  the  Society  and  still  be  considered  a  loyal  mem- 
ber.    Undoubtedly  there  is  a  division  among  the  members. 

Personally,  I  am  sure  we  all  believe  in  the  Sunday  closing  of 
saloons;    if  this  would  accomplish  any  good  results. 

In  England  at  the  present  time,  there  seems  to  be  a  movement 
toward  growing  success  in  this  direction  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
you  and  others  of  us  believe  that  it  would  be  most  unwise  to 
press  such  a  question  at  the  present  time,  and  especially  under 
present  municipal  conditions. 

The  resolution  adopted  yesterday  gives  a  modus  vivendi. 
The  four  resignations  announced  yesterday  were  laid  upon  the 
table  in  the  hope  that  you  and  the  others  who  resigned  would 
reconsider  your  action. 

I  most  earnestly  trust  that  you  will  see  your  way  clear  to  do 
this.  Some  of  us  who  have  borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day,  and  who  have  been  at  no  little  pains  for  the  last  20  years 
in  the  founding  of  this  society,  believe  that  it  has  a  valuable 
future  before  it.  In  our  own  Diocese  of  Washington  it  is  going 
to  be  an  incalculable  help  to  us  in  our  work,  and  I  think  the 

1  The  General  Secretary. 


1904]  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  259 

same  may  be  said  of  other  dioceses  in  other  widely  separated  parts 
of  the  country. 

The  upshot  of  it  was  that  resignations  were  withdrawn 
and  the  Society  proceeded  on  the  even  tenor  of  its  way. 
Through  Bishop  Satterlee,  clear  shining  came  after  the 
rain.  In  a  letter  containing  the  last  rumblings  of  the 
storm  he  writes: 

TO   BISHOP   DOANE 

January  23,  ig02.  —  I  am  most  thankful  at  your  decision. 
I  believe  that  the  C.  T.  S.  is  capable  of  doing  a  good  work,  and 
I  need  not  say  what  an  irreparable  loss  it  would  have  been,  had 
you  resigned  from  the  Executive  Committee. 

Oftentimes  reformers  concentrate  their  attention  so  exclusively 
upon  their  particular  reform,  that  they  are  utterly  unable  to 
yield  any  point  for  the  sake  of  accomplishing  a  much  greater 

reform. 

As  President  Roosevelt  has  stated,  in  a  recent  very  striking 
article,  "this  is  a  sheer  selfishness ";  but  I  think  some  of  the 
members  of  the  C.  T.  S.  have  learned  a  valuable  lesson. 

P.  S.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  Bishop  Potter,  Dr.  Parks  and  Mr. 
Zabriskie  have  withdrawn  their  resignations. 

This  year  there  arose  circumstances,  explained  in  the 
letter  quoted  below,  which  made  it  expedient  for  the 
Bishop  to  remove  his  chair  from  St.  Mark's  Church  to 
the  Church  of  the  Ascension.  It  was  with  mutual 
regret  that  the  tie  with  St.  Mark's  was  broken: 

TO   DR.    DEVRIES 

March  14,  1902.  —  Some  time  ago,  as  you  are  aware,  the  prop- 
osition was  made  to  me,  that  after  the  terms  of  my  compact 
and  contract  with  the  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of  St. 
Mark's  Parish  had  been  fully  discharged  and  fulfilled,  I  should 
take  the  Church  of  the  Ascension  as  the  Bishop's  Church  or 
pro-Cathedral. 

I  have  given  the  reasons  for  this  proposition,  prolonged  and 
careful  consideration;  and  having  found  that  the  present  financial 
conditions  of  the  Ascension  Parish  are  a  cause  for  grave  concern, 
and  that  its  revered  rector,  (who  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  the  Diocese,  and  in  the  whole  American  Church,)  could 


26o  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1902 

not  remain  in  his  position  as  full  rector,  unless  I  acceded  to  the 
request  of  the  vestry;  and,  furthermore,  being  convinced  in  my 
own  mind,  that  St.  Mark's  Parish,  in  the  past  five  years,  has 
risen  to  the  position  of  one  of  the  strongest,  best  equipped  and 
most  successful  parishes  in  the  Diocese  of  Washington,  I  have, 
after  much  prayer  and  thought,  felt  it  my  duty,  as  Bishop,  to 
give  a  favorable  response  to  the  petition  of  the  Wardens  and 
Vestrymen  of  Ascension  Parish,  provided  that  they  accepted 
the  terms  and  conditions  that  I  set  forth. 

At  a  Vestry  meeting  held  last  Monday  they  accepted  these 
terms. 

And  therefore  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  compact 
and  agreement  that  I  made  with  the  Vestrymen  and  Wardens  of 
St.  Mark's  Parish,  five  years  ago,  I  herewith  give  notice  that 
after  the  last  day  of  next  September,  St.  Mark's  Church  will 
cease  to  be  the  Bishop's  Church  or  pro-Cathedral. 

Let  me  take  this  opportunity  of  saying  to  you  that  I  have 
not  arrived  at  this  decision  without  pain.  It  has  cost  me  a  very 
hard  struggle  to  leave  St.  Mark's.  In  the  five  years  that  it 
has  been  the  pro-Cathedral,  there  has  not  been  a  single  break 
in  the  bond  of  affection  and  sympathy  which  has  bound  me  to 
the  Rector,  Vestry  and  congregation  of  St.  Mark's. 

God  has  signally  blessed  our  united  work.  I  cannot  think 
of  St.  Mark's  or  its  dear  people,  without  a  glow  of  happiness 
that  I  have  been  privileged  to  work  with  them,  and  the  hallowed 
associations  and  memories  of  all  that  we  have  been  through 
together,  will  retain  their  freshness  and  power  with  me  to  my 
dying  day. 

Whatever  pain  my  decision  may  cause  us  both,  I  cannot  but 
feel  that  if  this  step  has  been  taken  through  God's  leading,  that 
pain  itself  will  be  sanctified.  The  work  that  we  are  doing  is 
His  work  and  not  ours,  and  if  it  is  done  by  us  according  to  His 
will,  it  will  be  surely  blessed,  and  blessed  even  more  in  the  future 
than  in  the  past  at  St.  Mark's. 

Though  after  next  October  the  Parish  will  no  longer  be  the 
Bishop's  Church,  let  me  assure  you  that  this  will  make  no  dif- 
ference in  the  Bishop's  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Parish, 
and  in  his  affection  for  its  people. 

The  problem  of  divided  Christendom  from  this  time 
until  his  death  occupied  the  most  prominent  place  in  his 


1904]  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  261 

thought  of  all  great  questions.  The  "wrongs,  the  par- 
alyzing condition,  and  even  the  unbeliefs,  which  are 
caused  by  the  present  divided  state  of  Christendom' 
oppressed  him,  but  the  very  fact  of  the  increasing  recog- 
nition accorded  them  was  a  ground  of  encouragement, 
and  an  implicit  promise  that  in  the  course  of  time  the 
evils  of  division  would  be  effectually  dealt  with.  As 
in  everything  else,  great  or  small,  that  touched  human 
life  the  Bishop  grounded  his  faith  on  God's  promises. 
Unity  was  the  normal  condition  of  the  Church's  life 
not,  primarily,  because  it  meant  practical  effectiveness, 
but  because  Christ  had  said  so.  It  was  not  necessary 
to  test  Christ's  promises  to  believe  them.  Pragmatism 
had  in  it,  as  an  exclusive  philosophy,  a  taint  of  skepti- 
cism. The  promises  of  Christ  were  based  not  on  a 
Divine  theory,  but  on  a  Divine  experience  tried  and  not 
found  wanting.  Hence  the  first  requisite  in  man's  rela- 
tion to  God  was  always  and  everywhere  implicit  con- 
fidence that  viewed  the  seemingly  impossible  with  the 
same  eager  expectancy  as  the  obvious.  The  very  dark- 
ness of  the  night,  the  extreme  of  disunion  that  had  been 
reached,  notably  in  America,  —  he  called  America  "the 
land  of  a  divided  Christendom"  —  was  not  wholly  a 
cause  of  discouragement.  It  could  be  interpreted  as  that 
exaggeration  and  experimentation  of  despair  that  is  the 
signal  of  failure  and  the  beginning  of  reaction  in  the 
direction  of  God's  order.  Denominational  exclusiveness 
was  in  some  instances  giving  place  to  a  spirit  of  noble 
humility,  that  in  the  midst  of  loyalty  to  positive  precepts 
frankly  recognized  the  limitations  and  fragmentary  char- 
acter of  sectarianism.  The  Church  of  England  was 
largely  responsible  for  the  existence  of  dissent.  Her 
shortcomings  had  often  bred  separation.  In  the  other 
hand  "as  far  back  as  we  can  trace,  we  find  her  wrestling 
against  superior  forces;  and  consequently,  if  there  is  a 
Church  in  Christendom  which  has  suffered  and  known 
the  heaviest  pains  of  the  struggle  for  existence,  it  has 
been    the   ancient   Church   of  England."      If  the   ordeals 


262  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1902 

of  the  past  bore  full  fruition,  the  Anglican  Communion 
would  occupy  a  commanding  position  in  bringing  about 
organic  unity.  Her  distinguishing  feature  to-day  is  "the 
way  in  which  she  combines  in  herself,  and  satisfies, 
both  Catholic  and  Protestant  tendencies. "  The  first 
step  "toward  Christian  reunion  with  Protestants  of  dif- 
ferent names"  must  be  the  recognition  of  their  Christian 
character,  and  the  thankful  confession  that  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  had  been  working  with  them  and  through  them, 
and  had  blessed  their  efforts  in  Christ's  name.1 

When  we  look  for  the  reason  of  the  survival  of  Chris- 
tian bodies  that  flourish  after  three  or  four  centuries  of 
life,  we  generally  find  that  it  is  due  to  "some  element  of 
holiness  in  the  seel:  itself,  or  of  unholiness  of  the  national 
Church  from  which  it  separated,  or  to  both."  2 

The  Bishop's  estimate  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
was  somewhat  warped  by  his  intense  abhorrence  of  her 
spirit  of  exclusiveness.  Her  theory  of  development  was 
fundamentally  wrong,  as  standing  for  the  invention  of 
new  doctrines  rather  than  the  unfolding  of  the  Faith, 
so  that  instead  of  glorifying  Christ  she  had  glorified 
herself.  Though  he  had  a  theoretic  sympathy  with  the 
Catholicity  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  her  capacity 
for  intrigue,  as  he  conceived  it,  her  medievalism,  her 
temporal  pretensions  and  her  ofttimes  worldly  temper  left 
him  cold  and  estranged,  where  the  Protestant  Churches 
gave  him  a  sense  of  approach  and  approachableness. 
His  conviction  was  that  the  Catholicity  of  the  Roman 
Church  was  a  false  Catholicity,  and  that  the  difference 
between  the  Apostolic  and  the  Roman  use  of  the  term 
"the  Catholic  Church"  was   "intense." 

He  was  especially  antagonistic  to  the  practice  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  contradistinction  to  her 
theoretic  belief,  in  the  indissolubility  of  the  marriage  tie. 
His  reading  of  history  revealed  that  divorce  a  vinculo 
was  hidden  under  decrees  of  annulment  whenever  it  was 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1902,  Annual  Address,  pp.  32,  ff. 

2  Diocesan  Journal,  1903,  Annual  Address,  pp.  34,  35. 


1904]  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  263 

expedient.  In  the  matter  of  mixed  marriages,  according 
to  the  Manual  of  Prayers  for  the  Catholic  Laity  set  forth 
by  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  "the  cere- 
mony is  not  to  be  performed  in  a  Church.  .  .  .  No 
sacred  vestment  may  be  used,  nor  prayer  said,  nor  bless- 
ing given.,,  Bishop  Satterlee's  not  illogical  conclusion 
was,  that  the  ceremony  was  not  a  religious  ceremony, 
and  that  it  should  be  "supplemented  by  the  religious 
service  for  the  solemnisation  of  holy  matrimony  set 
forth  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer."  1 

His  hope  for  the  first  stages  of  progress  toward  the 
Church's  organic  unity  lay  in  the  direction  of  Protestant 
Communions.  The  correspondence  between  the  so-called 
"Chicago-Lambeth  Quadrilateral,"2  with  its  fourfold 
insistence  upon  the  Apostolic  Ministry,  the  two  Sacra- 
ments ordained  by  Christ,  the  Bible,  and  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  and  the  four  notes  of  the  Church  sounded  in  the 
Nicene  Creed,  he  felt  to  be  a  sufficient  test  of  the  trust- 
worthiness of  the  Quadrilateral  as  a  basis  for  unity. 

The  seal  of  the  Diocese  of  Washington  was  devised, 
not  without  some  disregard  for  the  canons  of  heraldry, 
by  a  committee  to  which  he  gave  many  suggestions.3 
It  bears  as  its  inscription  his  high  valuation  of  the  four- 
fold platform  of  the  Quadrilateral  —  "Scriptura,  Sym- 
bolum,  Mysterium,  Ordo."  At  the  time  of  his  death  he 
had  under  consideration  the  substitution  of  'Sacra- 
mentum"   for  " Mysterium. " 

But  it  was  to  herself  that  our  Church  must  first  give 
heed.  Assured  of  her  Catholicity  by  her  history  and 
lineage,  she  must  proclaim  it  by  her  life  and  character. 
She  must  exhibit  in  marked  degree  the  life  of  Christ. 
Her  blessings  were  rich  and  unique;  her  life  must  be  made 
correspondingly  so.  Without  this  the  arguments  of  the 
theologian    and    historian    would    fall    upon    unconvinced 

1  From  a  Pastoral  on  Mixed  Marriages  by  Bishop  Satterlee,   October  I,  1902. 

1  For  the  history  of  this  see  Journal  of  General  Convention  1886,  and  The 
Lambeth  Conferences  of  1S67,  1878,  and  iSSS,  edited  by  Randall  T.  Davidson 
(S.  P.  C.  K.),  pp.  331-338. 

3  Diocesan  Journal,  1896,  pp.   108  ff. 


264  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1902 

ears.     With    it    our    Church    would    become    a    powerful 
factor  in  promoting  unity. 

The  following  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  St.  Andrew's 
(Dr.  G.  H.  Wilkinson),  a  man  of  singular  piety,  for  whom 
Bishop  Satterlee  entertained  deep  affection  and  respect, 
is  a  curious  and  impracticable  mixture  of  loyalty  and 
conviction,  and  of  concessions  which,  if  made,  could  never 
hope  to  meet  with  acceptance  from  any  communion 
founded  on  conviction.  The  answer  is  wanting.  But 
the  letter  is  quoted  as  illustrating  how  busy  his  mind 
was  to  put  the  Cathedral  into  some  sort  of  vital  rela- 
tionship with  the  religious  life  of  the  whole  community. 

TO    THE    LORD    BISHOP   OF    ST.    ANDREW*  S 

Sept.  2,  IQ02.  —  I  am  venturing  to  write  to  you  upon  a  sub- 
ject to  which  I  have  been  giving  no  little  thought  of  late,  and 
regarding  which  I  should  be  glad  to  have  your  counsel.  Perhaps, 
I  can  best  state  it  as  follows: 

1.  In  America,  the  Protestant  denominations  are  looking 
more  and  more  to  the  Church.  They  recognize  that  the  Church 
has  a  power  of  organization,  of  which  they  are  destitute,  but 
do  not,  yet,  see  that  this  comes  from  the  principle  of  Orders. 
(Historic  Episcopate). 

2.  In  Washington,  the  Capital  of  the  United  States,  as  our 
own  church  is  the  only  Protestant  body  which  has  real  organ- 
ization, it  is  the  only  organism  which  stands  against  the  forceful 
organization  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church;  and,  consequently, 
it  is  destined  to  become  more  and  more  the  representative 
Protestant  Body. 

3.  In  Washington,  we  are  building  very  slowly  a  Cathedral 
which  will  undoubtedly  be  looked  upon  as  the  representative 
Protestant  Cathedral:  no  other  Protestant  body  being  able  to 
utilize  a  great  Cathedral. 

Thus  this  Cathedral,  while  connected  exclusively  with  the 
Diocese  of  Washington  and  our  own  branch  of  the  Anglican 
Communion,  can,  in  many  indirect  ways,  help  the  cause  of 
Christian  Unity;  especially  among  those  oldest  American  Chris- 
tian denominations,  which  broke  off  from  the  old  mother  church; 
—  the  Puritans,  the  Quakers,  the  English  Presbyterians,  Congre- 
gationalists,  Anabaptists,  &c. 


1904]  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  265 

4.  The  Altar,  or  first  stone  of  this  Cathedral,  was  hewn  from 
the  living  rock  at  Jerusalem,  and  the  Holy  Eucharist  is  now  cele- 
brated on  the  Cathedral  Site,  long  before  the  Cathedral  is  built. 
This  Altar  was  the  gift  of  all  the  Dioceses  of  the  American  Church. 

5.  I  am  now  desirous  of  building  a  (temporary)  Baptistery  over 
a  (permanent)  Cathedral  Baptismal  Font,  which  shall  be  large 
enough  for  immersion  if  this  is  ever  desired  by  candidates  for 
baptism.  It  is  my  hope  that  as  the  Altar  was  the  gift  of  all  our 
own  Dioceses,  so  the  Font  may  be  the  gift  of  those  old  American 
Christian  denominations  or  seels,  which  separated  from  the  Church 
of  England  in  past  centuries.  This  is  easily  possible  through 
individual  members  of  those  secfls,  and  will  help  the  cause  of 
Christian  union. 

But  I  can  think  of  a  much  greater  help.  The  Lambeth  quad- 
rilateral implies  the  validity  of  lay  baptism,  does  it  not?  Our 
Prayer  Book  leaves  this  an  open  question:  but  the  majority  of 
our  church  people,  bishops,  clergy  and  laity  tacitly  acknowledge 
it.  Why  then,  should  we  not  acl:  boldly  in  Washington  and 
suffer  the  ministers  of  these  various  Christian  bodies  to  use  the 
Cathedral  Baptistery,  provided  that  they  pledge  themselves  to 
baptise  with  water,  "in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost"? 

The  advantages  of  this  plan  are: 

1.  The  Baptistery,  being  outside  of  the  Cathedral  or  the 
Church  Building  itself,  there  could  be  no  plea  on  their  part  that 
the  Cathedral  should  also  be  used  by  them. 

2.  The  recognition  of  their  baptism,  as  it  were,  officially, 
would  promote  the  cause  of  church  unity,  and  perhaps,  lead 
them,  on  their  part,  to  recognize  our  principles. 

3.  The  celebration  of  Holy  Communion  is  a  priestly  acl, 
which  could  not  be  performed  by  one  who  is  not  a  priest:  and 
this  would  protect  us  against  any  argument,  on  their  part,  that 
if  we  admit  the  validity  of  one  sacrament  as  administered  by 
them,  we  ought  to  admit  the  validity  of  the  other  also. 

The  disadvantages  are, 

1.  While  our  church,  through  her  Prayer  Book,  leaves  lay- 
Baptism  an  open  question,  such  an  action  would  go  further  and 
recognize  it  wholly. 

2.  It  might  also,  separate  us  from  the  other  branches  of  the 
Historic  Church.  The  Roman  Catholics,  for  example,  do  not 
recognize  sectarians  as  church  laymen. 


266  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1902 

3.  It  would  form  a  precedent,  undoubtedly  to  be  used  by 
the  seels  against  the  do&rine  that  only  ministers  ordained  in 
apostolic  succession  can  administer  valid  sacraments. 

I  confess  that  I  shrink  from  allowing  the  use  of  the  Cathedral 
Baptistery  to  the  seds,  even  though  it  is  my  own  idea  that 
it  should  be  thus  used.  No  one  has  ever  mentioned  the  subject 
to  me  and  I  am  communicating  it  to  you  privately  for  you  are 
the  successor  of  a  Bishop  who  was  willing  to  go  very  far  in 
the  cause  of  the  reunion  of  Christendom;  and  know  perhaps,  as 
well  as  any  Bishop  in  the  Anglican  Communion,  what  the  dif- 
ferent sides  of  the  question  are. 

I  should  not  be  willing  to  take  this  step  without  the  advice  of 
my  brothers  in  the  Episcopate,  and  of  theologians  in  whose  mature 
judgment  I  could  rest.  First  of  all  I  come  to  you.  I  shall  be 
grateful  for  any  counsel,  any  suggestions  that  you  may  care  to 
give  me,  and  also,  for  the  names  of  any  churchmen  and  theologians 
who  are  competent  to  give  an  opinion  of  value  upon  this  question. 
Am  I  trespassing  too  much  on  your  kindness  in  asking  this? 

Washington's  Birthday  this  year  was  marked  by  news 
of  the  death  of  the  "Tombs'  Angel.'1     He  wrote  in  his 

Journal: 

Heard  this  day  of  the  sudden  death  of  my  old  friend  and 
parishioner,  Mrs.  John  A.  Foster.  While  I  was  rector  of  Calvary, 
she  began  her  work,  first  as  one  of  the  corps  of  ladies  who  visited 
among  the  poor  in  the  parish,  and  then  at  public  institutions, 
and  lastly  at  the  "Tombs/'  and  she  soon  began  to  evince  such 
remarkable  qualifications,  that  she  not  only  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  Church  and  the  clergy,  but  also  of  the  judges  and  lawyers 
at  the  Courts.  Her  loss  is  absolutely  irreparable,  and  I  doubt 
if  anyone  can  ever  be  found  to  fill  her  place.1 

On  New  Year's  Eve,  1903,  and  again  on  his  birthday 
a  short  time  after,  there  are  happy  echoes  of  old  times 
in  his  letters  to  the  Grinnells: 

new  year's  eve,  1903. 
Dear  Mr.  Grinnell:    Here  on  my  library  table  is  the  lovely 
Xmas  present  that  you  and  Mrs.  Grinnell  sent  me.     I  have  al- 
ready begun  it  and  find  it  a  far  different  and  greater  book  than 
its  title  promised,  for  I  thought  it  would  be  only  an  interesting 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1902,  p.  56. 


1904]  INVISIBLE   FOUNDATIONS  267 

record  of  the  events  of  the  Coronation.  I  am  so  immersed  in 
work  that  I  had  seen  no  review  of  it.  Such  a  book  must  have 
had  many  reviews. 

I  enjoyed  my  little  glimpse  of  Dr.  Pott  even  more  than  I  had 
anticipated,  though  of  course  as  last  Sunday  was  Robert's  last 
day  on  earth,  and  I  had  four  services,  I  could  not  see  as  much 
of  him  as  I  desired.  But  it  was  refreshing  to  have  such  good 
talks  about  dear  old  Zion  Church  and  its  people.  How  much 
he  thinks  of  you  and  Mrs.  Grinnell! 

I  have  your  Xmas  card  on  my  library  table  and  Mrs.  Grin- 
ned leaflet,  torn  as  it  were  from  an  old  illuminated  book  of 
Devotion.  How  the  old  words  of  the  Ancient  Creed  stand  out 
like  a  gospel  reminder  when  they  are  thus  isolated. 

With  dear  love  to  you  both,  and  the  prayer  that  God  will 
send  you  His  own  best  New  Year  blessings. 

I  am,  in  the  bonds  of 

Auld  Lang  Syne 

Affectionately  yours, 

H.   Y.    SATTERLEE. 
JAN.   II,  I903. 

My  dear  Mr.  and  Mrs.  I.  G.:  This  is  my  LXth  Birthday,  and 
I  am  writing  just  one  word  to  those  dear  friends  who  have 
helped  to  make  my  sixty  years  happy.  And,  you  know  as  well 
as  I,  that  a  chief  part  of  the  benison  which  has  come  to  me,  has 
been  from  the  love  and  sympathy  and  co-operation  of  the  two, 
whom  Mr.  John  Thompson  used  to  call  the  "Lord  and  Lady  of 
Netherwood." 

Yes,  you  two  dear  ones  have  enriched  my  life,  —  our  lives. 
How  every  memory  of  those  golden  days  is  associated  with  the 
thought  of  you.  It  was  God  who  brought  us  together  then,  and 
I  pray  God,  that  the  friendship  formed  then  may  have  been  one 
for  time  and  for  eternity. 

It  must  be  so,  we  are  but  upon  the  threshold  of  life  here  and 
year  by  year,  days  grow  brighter,  as  the  radiance  of  the  eternal 
home  —  Jerusalem  the  Golden  —  flushes  the  horizon. 

We  read  your  letter  with  deepest  interest.  Churchill  is  here 
to-day,   and   I   need   not  say  his  mother  is  happy. 

W  ith  love  from  all  four  of  us  to  you  both,  and  our  kindest 
regards  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howland,  I  am 

Affectionately  yours, 

H.    Y.    SATTERLEE. 


268  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1902 

In  the  fall  of  1903  the  Ail-American  Conference  and 
the  Missionary  Council  met  in  Washington.  The  Con- 
ference consisted  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  England 
in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and  the  Bishops  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States.  From 
first  to  last  nearly  one  hundred  bishops  gathered  and 
"deliberated  concerning  the  gravest  interests  and  largest 
mission  of  the  kingdom  of  God  among  men.  Such  an 
assemblage  had,  as  some  at  any  rate  who  participated 
in  it  believed,  a  prophetic  significance.  It  recognized 
the  Oneness  of  Christ's  Body,  of  whatever  race  or  lineage; 
and  it  recognized  no  less,  what  Lamennais  long  ago  pointed 
out  —  the  pre-eminent  competency  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  as  not  standing  for  a  part,  but  for  the  whole 
of  the  primitive  deposit  of  the  Apostolic  Faith  and 
Order,  to  be  the  messenger  of  Jesus  Christ  to  men 
in   this   twentieth  century  and   on   the  American   Conti- 


"  1 
nents. 


The  preface  for  the  printed  copy  of  the  minutes  was 
written  by  Bishop  Satterlee  and  gives  some  account  of 
the  origin  of  and  preparation  for  the  Conference.  "he 
idea  was  conceived  at  the  Lambeth  Conference.  The 
Bishop  of  Kentucky  (Dr.  Dudley),  Chairman  of  the 
House  of  Bishops,  was  elected  to  preside  over  the  gath- 
ering —  most  fittingly  in  that  it  was  more  largely  due 
to  his  efforts  than  to  those  of  anyone  else  that  the  Con- 
ference became  a  fact. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  House  of  Bishops  in  1902  a  com- 
mittee of  bishops  was  appointed  to  co-operate  with  the 
Canadian  bishops  in  arranging  for  the  Conference  a  year 
hence.  Through  correspondence  topics  for  discussion 
were  gathered  and  a  programme  formulated.  It  is 
indicative  of  the  part  that  Bishop  Satterlee  played  that 
the  tentative  programme  from  his  hand  was  substan- 
tially that  which  was  finally  adopted.2 

1  All-American  Conference  of  Bishops,  Preface. 

2  The  topical  programme  was: 

1.  The  Relation  of  the  Several  Branches  of  the  Anglican  Communion  in 
America  to  one  another. 


I9Q43  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  269 

Three  months  after  the  close  of  the  Conference  Bishop 
Dudley  died  suddenly.  Bishop  Satterlee,  upon  whom 
it  fell  to  prepare  the  preface  to  the  volume  of  proceed- 
ings in  his  stead,  says:  — 

To  his  wisdom,  his  large  experience  and  his  enthusiasm,  his 
wide  sympathies,  flowing  beyond  national  boundaries  toward 
all  things  which  pertained  to  the  growth  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  on  earth,  the  success  of  the  Conference  is  to  be  largely 
ascribed.  It  is  an  irreparable  loss  that  the  short  sketch  which 
he  was  to  have  prepared  will  now  never  be  written,  and  that 
in  its  place  are  substituted  these  few  explanatory  words  from 
another's  pen.  The  Bishop  of  Kentucky  has  been  called  by 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church  from  this  lower  world,  into  a 
higher  field  of  service,  in  the  doing  of  God's  will,  and  the  first 
All-American  Conference,  over  which  he  presided,  has  passed 
into  history. 

While  no  one  can  forecast  what  its  results  may  be  in  the 
advancement  of  the  Missionary  cause,  it  undoubtedly  brought 
its  own  peculiar  blessing  upon  all  the  Bishops  who  were  pres- 
ent, in  enlarging  their  sympathies,  in  cementing  more  closely 
their  feeling  of  brotherhood  in  the  unravelling  of  spiritual  diffi- 
culties, in  solving  problems  that  peculiarly  belonged  to  Mis- 
sionary work  in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and  in  stimulating  and 
encouraging  to  fresh  endeavors  those  who  feel  increasingly  how 
great  a  responsibility  is  resting  upon  every  Bishop  as  a  spirit- 
ual leader  in  the  Missionary  field.1 

Of  course  the  Conference  had  neither  legislative  au- 
thority   nor    intent.     But    it    summed    up    its    corporate 

2.  The  Attitude  of  our  Church  toward  Churches  subject  to  the   Roman 

Obedience. 

3.  The  Development  of  Autonomous  Churches  in  Heathen  Lands. 

4.  The  Development  of  Uniat  Churches  in  our  own  Country. 

5.  The    Attitude   of  our    Church    toward    the    Protestant    Communions 

around  her. 

6.  Methods  of  the  Church's  Work  in  Evangelizing  the  Specially  Depend- 

ent Races  in  America. 

7.  The  Obligation  of  the  Church  to  Maintain  the  Christian  Family  in  its 

Integrity. 

8.  The    Adaptation    of   the    Church's    Methods    to    the    Needs    of   the 

Twentieth  Century. 
1  All-American  Conference  of  Bishops.     Preface. 


270  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1902 

mind  in  a  series  of  resolutions.  The  question  of  "in- 
trusion" was  met  by  the  resolution  that  "the  right  of 
this  Church  to  enter  countries  where  there  are  Churches 
subject  to  the  Roman  obedience,  such  as  the  Philippines, 
Porto  Rico  and  Honolulu,  Cuba,  Mexico,  and  Brazil, 
rests  partly  on  the  necessity  of  ministering  to  its  own 
people  in  these  countries,  and  partly  on  the  duty  to 
give  the  privileges  of  the  Church  to  Christian  people 
deprived  of  them  unless  they  submit  to  unlawful  terms 
of  communion. "  1 

The  relation  to  Protestant  communions  had  been 
powerfully  presented  by  the  Bishop  Coadjutor  of  Mont- 
real (Dr.  Carmichael).  The  Conference  affectionately 
commended  — 

This  whole  most  grave  subject  anew  to  the  consideration  of 
those  Protestant  communions,  and  ask  them  to  consider  it  seri- 
ously, with  a  view  to  aiming  at  inter-communion  and  possible 
union  between  them  and  us,  through  the  composition  of  some 
of  the  differences,  and  the  recognition  that  others  do  not  con- 
stitute sufficient  reasons  for  creating,  or  continuing,  a  rupture  of 
that  visible  unity  of  the  Church  for  which  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  prayed. 

We  are  very  thankful  to  believe  that,  notwithstanding  differ- 
ences between  Christians,  yet  because  of  the  wide  acceptance 
of  the  underlying  basic  principle  of  baptismal  unity  there  is 
good  hope  of  the  fulfilment  of  our  blessed  Lord's  high-priestly 
prayer,  which  calls  for  constant  thought  and  prayer  and  consci- 
entious effort  on  the  part  of  His  Disciples  for  the  accomplishment 
of  reunion   throughout   Christendom.1 

According  to  wont,  Bishop  Satterlee  cast  around  for 
some  suitable  way  of  revealing  his  Cathedral  vision 
to  the  visiting  brethren.  He  was  ever  a  dreamer,  and 
it  was  God's  brush  that  colored  his  dreams  which  were 
always  steeped  in  the  glory  of  a  triumphant  tomorrow. 
From  many  different  people  this  story  comes  —  He  was 
once  seen  approaching  a  group  of  brother  bishops. 
One    of    them    said:     "Behold    this    dreamer    comethF 

1  The  Guardian,  London,  November  II,  1903. 


1904]  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  271 

"Yes,"  replied  another,  "a  dreamer  who  fulfils  his 
dreams. "  On  this  particular  occasion  he  hoped  that  the 
Cathedral  altar  would  be  ready  for  dedication.  It 
proved  to  be  otherwise.  So  he  planned  for  a  service 
in  his  great  open-air  Cathedral  on  Mount  St.  Alban 
on  Sunday,  October  25.  The  Archbishop  of  the  West 
Indies  (Dr.  Nuttall)  writing  afterwards  to  the  Churchman 
says: 

The  situation  was  in  every  way  favorable  to  an  out-of-door 
gathering:  —  a  sheltered  natural  amphitheatre  on  the  brow  of 
a  hill  overlooking  the  City  of  Washington,  where  a  vast  multi- 
tude could  see  and  hear.  The  day  was  brilliantly  fine;  and 
this,  with  the  robes  of  (about)  four  hundred  choristers,  one 
hundred  clergy,  and  forty  bishops,  imparted  a  picturesqueness 
to  the  scene  which  the  multitude  appreciated.  But  besides 
the  long,  orderly  procession  led  by  an  effective  band,  and  the 
vast  congregation  of  intelligent  citizens  (including  many  men 
and  women  of  note),  and  all  the  perfectly  suitable  arrangements 
made  by  the  Bishop  of  Washington  and  his  lieutenants  for 
securing  order  and  comfort,  and  the  effect  of  the  simple  litur- 
gical service  joined  in  by  the  vast  multitude,  —  the  principal 
and  most  striking  feature  was  the  presence  of  the  chief  Ruler 
of  this  great  nation,  who  had  come  not  only  to  witness  the 
scene,  but  to  give  a  religious  address  pertinent  to  the  occasion, 
which  he  did  in  a  natural,  sympathetic  and  very  effective  man- 
ner. I  think  the  Christian  people  of  the  United  States  should 
reckon  it  among  the  many  things  they  have  to  be  thankful  for, 
that  again  and  again  their  chief  magistrates  have  been  men 
who  could  fittingly  take  part  in  such  a  service  as  President 
Roosevelt  did  on  that  Sunday  afternoon.  I  have  been  at  many 
great  out-of-door  functions,  but  never  at  one,  which,  having 
regard  to  all  the  circumstances,  so  profoundly  impressed  me  as 
the  one  I  have  just  referred  to  at  Washington.1 

President  Roosevelt  gave  a  characteristic  address,  full  of 
vim  and  pertinence.     In  the  course  of  his  address  he  said: 

I  wish  to  dwell  upon  certain  thoughts  suggested  by  three 
different  quotations:  —  In  the  first  place,  "Thou  shalt  serve 
the  Lord  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy 

1  New  York  Churchman,  November  21,  1903. 


272  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1902 

mind;"  the  next,  "Be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents  and  harm- 
less as  doves;"  and,  finally,  in  the  Collecft  which  you,  Bishop 
Doane,  just  read,  that  "we  being  ready  both  in  body  and  soul 
may  therefore  accomplish  those  things  which  thou  commandest." 

In  the  second  quotation  remember  that  we  are  told  not 
merely  to  be  harmless  as  doves,  but  also  to  be  wise  as  serpents. 
One  of  those  characteristic  humorists  whom  this  country  has 
developed,  and  who  veiled  under  jocular  phrases  much  deep 
wisdom  —  one  of  those  men  remarked  that  it  was  much  easier 
to  be  a  harmless  dove  than  a  wise  serpent.  Now,  we  are  not 
to  be  excused  if  we  do  not  show  both  qualities. 

It  is  not  very  much  praise  to  give  a  man  to  say  that  he  is 
harmless.  We  have  a  right  to  ask  that  in  addition  to  the  fad: 
that  he  does  no  harm  to  any  one,  he  shall  possess  the  wisdom 
and  the  strength  to  do  good  to  his  neighbor;  that  together 
with  innocence,  together  with  purity  of  motive,  shall  be  joined 
the  wisdom  and  strength  to  make  that  purity  effective,  that 
motive  translated   into   substantial   result. 

I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  something  that  is  especially 
my  business  for  the  time  being,  and  that  is  your  business  all 
the  time,  or  else  you  are  unfit  to  be  citizens  of  this  republic. 

In  the  seventh  hymn,  which  we  sung,  in  the  last  line,  you  all 
joined  in  singing  "God  save  the  State."  Do  you  intend  merely 
to  sing  that,  or  to  try  to  do  it?  If  you  intend  merely  to  sing 
it,  your  part  in  doing  it  will  be  but  small.  The  State  will  be 
saved  if  the  Lord  puts  it  into  the  heart  of  the  average  man  so 
to  shape  his  life  that  the  State  shall  be  worth  saving,  and  only 
on  those  terms. 

In  our  civil  life,  although  we  need  that  the  average  public 
servant  shall  have  far  more  than  honesty,  yet  all  other  quali- 
ties go  for  nothing,  or  for  worse  than  nothing,  unless  honesty 
underlies  them  —  not  only  the  honesty  that  keeps  its  skirts 
technically  clear,  but  the  honesty  that  is  such  according  to 
the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  the  law;  the  honesty  that  is 
aggressive,  the  honesty  that  not  merely  deplores  corruption  — 
it  is  easy  enough  to  deplore  corruption  —  but  that  wars  against 
it  and  tramples  it  under  foot.1 

The  climax  of  the  Conference  was  in  a  Missionary 
meeting   in   Convention   Hall   on   the   evening   preceding 

1  The  New  York  Herald,  O&ober  26,  1903. 


1904]  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  273 

the  open-air  service.  Some  seven  thousand  people  gath- 
ered in  the  big  auditorium,  and  the  meeting  served  the 
purpose  of  inaugurating  the  Missionary  Council  which 
met  three  days  later. 

The  many  letters  the  Bishop  afterwards  received  bear 
testimony  to  the  inspiration  and  help  that  came  through 
the  Conference  and  the  Council  which  so  fittingly  fol- 
lowed it. 

The  Bishop  Coadjutor  of  Southern  Ohio  (Dr.  Boyd 
Vincent)   wrote: 

FROM  THE    BISHOP   COADJUTOR   OF    SOUTHERN   OHIO 

Odober  26,  1903.  —  I  am  sorry  that  I  shall  not  have  a  chance 
to  see  you  again.  I  go  home  this  afternoon.  But  I  do  want 
to  tell  you  in  this  way  how  heartily  I  congratulate  you  and 
thank  you,  in  the  name  of  the  Church,  for  the  thoroughly  suc- 
cessful and  effective  plans  which  you  have  undertaken  and  car- 
ried out  in  connection  with  the  Conference.  The  Missionary 
Meeting  on  Saturday  was  fine  in  every  way;  and  the  service 
yesterday  at  the  Cathedral  grounds  was  most  beautiful  and 
impressive.  No  one  who  was  there  —  even  the  President  — 
will  ever  forget  it.  It  was  a  great  triumph  for  you  and  a  long 
step  forward  for  this  Church,  too,  —  in  making  her  real  posi- 
tion and  claims  in  this  land  realized  and  felt.  The  rest  of  us 
owe  you  a  debt  of  gratitude,  —  and  I  feel  better  to  have  told 
you  so. 

The  following  letter  came  from  the  Archbishop  of  the 
West    Indies: 

FROM   THE    ARCHBISHOP   OF   THE    WEST    INDIES 

Odober  30,  1903.  —  I  must  send  a  brief  note  to-day  to  say  to 
you  how,  apart  from  all  the  manifold  interests  connected  with 
my  recent  visit  to  the  Ail-American  Congress  of  Bishops  at 
Washington,  I  value  the  occasion  greatly  because  it  has  given 
me  the  opportunity  of  renewing  and  increasing  my  acquaint- 
ance with  you  and  your  work.  I  esteem  this  as  a  great  priv- 
ilege, and  I  hope  to  be  the  better  as  a  Christian  man  and  as  a 
Bishop  in  the  Church  of  God  for  my  intercourse  with  you.  May 
our  Divine  Lord  have  you  constantly  in  His  gracious  keeping, 
and  guide  and  help  you  in  your  work,  which  is  great  in  its  pres- 
ent   responsibilities    and    its    immediate    usefulness,    but   greater 


274  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1902 

still  in  its  bearing  on  the  future  influence  of  our  Church  in  this 
great  and  wonderful  country. 

Finally  this  letter  from  the  Bishop  of  Minnesota  is 
given  as  a  sample  of  all  the  rest  which  he  received: 

FROM  THE    BISHOP   OF   MINNESOTA 

November  8,  1903.  —  In  telling  my  people  at  the  pro-Cathe- 
dral here  of  the  All-American  Conference  and  Missionary  Coun- 
cil, my  heart  has  been  turned  again  to-day  to  the  memory  of 
your  bounteous  hospitality,  and  the  marvellous  perfection  of 
the  arrangements  which  your  people,  under  your  leadership, 
made  for  our  entertainment,  so  that  I  want  to  write  and  tell 
you  again  how  profoundly  we  all  appreciated  it,  and  particularly 
how  warm  a  place  you  hold  in  all  our  hearts. 

More  than  one  bishop  and  delegate  will  come  home  to  pray 
with  great  earnestness  that  the  noble  conception  of  a  national 
Cathedral,  to  stand  in  our  country's  Capital  as  a  witness  for 
Evangelic  truth  and  Apostolic  order,  may  grow  into  all  that, 
with  prophetic  vision,  you  have  dreamed  that  it  should  be. 

Mrs.  Edsall  joins  me  in  grateful  regards  to  yourself  and  Mrs. 
Satterlee.  I  do  hope  you  are  getting  a  little  rest  after  your 
herculean  labors. 

While  men  were  commending  the  good  Bishop,  he, 
in  turn,  was  attributing  the  success  of  the  occasion  to 
others.  The  letter  Archdeacon  Williams  wrote  him 
indicates  the  character  of  the  communication  which 
called  it  forth: 

FROM   ARCHDEACON   WILLIAMS 

Nov.  5,  1903.  —  I  wish  I  could  accept  all  you  have  so  beau- 
tifully written  as  due  me.  But  I  cannot,  for  it  would  not  be 
honest.  The  men  who  made  this  effort  a  success  are  the  heads 
of  the  Committees.  Mr.  Hutchinson,  Mr.  Gordon,  Mr.  Hill, 
Col.  Clay,  and  Mr.  Shealey  are  the  ones  who  should  receive  the 
praise,  as  well  as  the  men  who  worked  under  them.  They 
certainly  did  labor  incessantly  for  the  good  of  the  cause.  I  ap- 
preciate your  feeling  in  the  matter,  and  my  only  regret  is  that 
I  cannot  take  all  the  kind  things  you  say  to  myself. 

I  tried  to  get  you  yesterday  by  phone,  but  the  line  was  busy. 
I  could  have  gone  up  to-morrow  (Friday)  afternoon,  but  fear  I 
shall  not  be  able  to  go  on  Monday.     I  shall  be  there  in  spirit, 


1904]  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  275 

and  would  enjoy  seeing  the  others  when  you  say  what  you  have 
said  to  me.  I  am  always  repaid  for  a  hard  piece  of  work  when 
it  comes  out  right,  and  I  have  enjoyed  with  you  the  abundant 
success  of  this  Missionary  Council  and  Pan-American  Confer- 
ence. After  all,  dear  Bishop,  it  was  you,  the  inspiring  leader, 
who  made  both  gatherings  a  success. 

General  Wilson's  letter  is  of  the  same  tenor: 

FROM    GENERAL   JOHN   M.    WILSON 

Nov.  II,  1903.  —  Your  beautiful  letter  is  before  me,  has  been 
read  with  a  moistening  eye  and  trembling  lip  and  will  be  placed 
among  my  household  treasures. 

You  give  me  more  credit  than  I  deserve,  for  your  excellent 
suggestions  helped  me  greatly  in  my  work,  and  the  noble  men 
who  so  ably  carried  out  our  plans  and  looked  after  every  detail, 
deserve  the  greatest  credit  for  the  complete  success  of  the  grandest 
affair  of  this  character  that  ever  took  place  on  this  continent. 

Overwhelmed  with  enthusiasm  at  the  magnificent  sight  be- 
fore him,  the  Bishop  of  the  West  Indies,  who  sat  on  my  left, 
suddenly  grasped  my  hand  and  exclaimed: 

"General  Wilson,  nowhere  in  the  civilized  world,  save  in 
this  country,  could  such  a  spectacle  be  presented  to  us,  as  that 
now  before  us." 

To  you,  dear  Bishop,  is  due  all  the  credit  and  honor  for  the 
success  of  the  beautiful  service  and  as  I  once  said  to  you  be- 
fore, "Under  such  a  banner,  with  such  a  leader  as  yourself,  we 
would  be  recreants  if  we  did  not  strive  for  success." 

To  another  helper  the  Bishop  wrote: 

TO    MISS    MACKRILLE 

Nov.  16,  1903.  —  I  want  to  thank  you  most  warmly  for  all 
that  you  did  on  the  day  before  the  meeting  of  the  Bishops. 
Your  help  was  invaluable  and  the  preparations  were  so  complete 
that  all  the  Bishops  were  enthusiastic.  I  wish  you  could  read 
their  letters.  Most  of  them  in  bidding  me  good-bye  said  that 
they  realised  now  for  the  first  time  the  representative  character 
of  the  church   in  the  Capital  of  the  country. 

The  service  on  the  Cathedral  Close  on  the  25th  of  October 
will  be  historic. 

Shortly  after  the  conclusion  of  the  Missionary  Council 
we  find  Bishop  Satterlee  occupied  in  promoting  a  meeting 


276  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1902 

in  support  of  the  Prisoners'  Aid  Association.  He  secured 
Jacob  Riis  as  a  speaker,  and  in  thanking  him  for  accepting 
the  invitation  he  said: 

TO   MR.   JACOB   RIIS 

Nov.  27th,  1903.  —  If  you  dare  stand  in  awe  of  me,  as  a 
Bishop,  hereafter  I  will  still  more  be  in  awe  of  you. 

Whenever  you  come  to  Washington,  you  always  will  have  a 
warm  welcome  at  my  house. 

I  am  very  grateful  that  you  can  speak  at  a  parlor  meeting 
on  Monday,  December  14th,  in  the  afternoon. 

The  wealthier  classes  as  a  rule,  here,  have  very  little  feeling 
of  civic  or  social  responsibility.  The  work  of  our  Prisoners 
Aid  Association  is  simply  marvellous,  as  I  told  you;  and  yet, 
they  know  nothing  about  it.  Your  coming  then,  will  be  a  mercy 
that  is  twice  blessed.  It  will  please  the  lower  classes  that  are 
so  desirous  of  helping  and  also  equally  please  the  upper  classes, 
and  I  trust,  create  first  a  feeling  of  sympathy  and  then  a  feeling 
of  responsibility. 

The  year  (1903)  closed  with  bereavement  of  which  his 
letters  to  his  brother  tell: 

TO   MR.   ARTHUR   SATTERLEE 

Dec.  26tb,  1903.  —  Thank  you  and  Leontine  ever  so  much  for 
your  beautiful  presents.  We  will  write  to  you  later.  Christ- 
mas Day,  dawned  so  brightly  and  beautifully  upon  us  yester- 
day, and  perhaps  it  was  the  happiest  one  we  have  spent  in 
Washington. 

Walter  and  Jennie  Catlin  came  into  Jennie's  room,  and  they 
all  opened  their  stockings  together. 

Mary  and  Robert  Catlin  1  were  with  us  at  dinner  yesterday, 
and  after  dinner  came  God's  message,  very  gently.  Slowly 
Robert  had  an  attack  of  paralysis. 

Walter  and  I  supported  him. 

The  doctor  came  as  soon  as  possible,  but  it  got  deeper  and 
deeper,  and  now  he  is  on  a  couch,  in  the  library,  with  all  his 
family  around  him,  and  from  all  appearances  he  is  sleeping  his 
life  peacefully  away. 

Of  course  while  there  is  life,  there  is  hope;  but  the  changes 
that  slowly  take  place,  are  none  for  the  better. 

1  Capt.  Robert  Catlin,  his  brother-in-law. 


1904]  INVISIBLE  FOUNDATIONS  277 

May  Catlin  came  on  from  New  York  last  night,  arriving  this 
morning. 

Dec.  28th,  1903.  —  I  have  to  write  in  this  typewritten  way, 
because  I  must  attend  to  other  matters  at  once. 

Robert's  end  was  very  peaceful  and  quiet.  We  knew  it  would 
come,  but  not  quite  so  suddenly.  It  was  a  great  privilege  for 
me  to  have  had  him  and  all  his  family  here  at  my  house. 

He  died  in  my  library,  where  he  was  taken  ill,  on  Christmas 
afternoon.  It  was  the  end  of  a  beautiful  life,  and  everything 
has  been  just  as  comforting  and  providentially  arranged  as  we 
could  desire. 

Robert's  funeral  will  take  place  at  Ascension  Church,  Wednes- 
day, Dec.  30th,  at  n  a.m. 

I  am  writing  to  Reese  and  Virginia. 

In  less  than  a  month  Mrs.  H.  B.  Aldrich,  so  beloved 
and  admired  by  him,  "a  mother  in  Israel  indeed,"  went 
to  her  rest.  Three  days  later  Bishop  Dudley,  "one  of  his 
nearest  and  closest  friends  in  the  American  Episcopate' 
followed  her.  Under  the  shadow  and  inspiration  of  his 
accumulating  griefs  he  wrote  the  widow  of  his  friend: 

TO   MRS.    DUDLEY 

Jan.  2j,  1904.  —  May  the  dear  Lord  be  with  you,  and  He 
will.  You  will  have  strength  unknown  before  to  sustain  you. 
I  am  sure  it  will  be  so.  I  do  not  speak  of  your  sorrow,  —  of 
our  sorrow.  I  cannot  speak  of  it  as  yet.  I  can  only  think  of 
you  and  pray  for  you,  who  have  this  double  parting  with  loved 
ones  to  bear.  My  heart  goes  out  to  you  in  loving  sympathy. 
I  beseech  you  think  of  only  this,  "God  loves  me."  Any  thought 
beyond  that  will  perplex  and  distress.  If  you  keep  to  that 
single  thought,  God  will  give  you  His  sustaining  peace. 

But  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  sorrows.  Never- 
theless all  was  well. 

Yea  thro'  life,  death,  thro'  sorrow  and  thro'  sinning 
He  shall  suffice  me,  for  He  hath  sufficed; 

Christ  is  the  end,  for  Christ  was  the  beginning, 
Christ  the  beginning,  for  the  end  is  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XV 

CHIAROSCURO 

i 904- i 90 5 

And  in  the  end 

Though  you  be  spent, 

Tou,  who  were  glad  to  spend. 

Who  would  not  be 

A  baffled  Moses  with  eyes  to  see 

The  jar  fruition  of  the  Promised  Land, 

Who  would  not  understand 

How  to  lead  captive  dread  captivity, 

Who  would  not  even  crave 

A  lost  and  lonely  grave 

Near  Jordan's  wave? 

CORINNE  ROOSEVELT  ROBINSON 

ON  February  16  the  Bishop's  only  son,  Churchill, 
the  joy  of  his  parents,  died,  leaving  a  widow  (nee 
Helen  Stuyvesant  Folsom,  whom  he  married  in 
1898)  and  two  children,  Henry  Yates  and  Ethelred 
Frances  —  a  third,  Churchill,  was  born  three  months 
after  his  father's  death.  His  winsome  personality,  his 
native  gifts  of  mind  and  soul,  and  his  unfeigned  love  of 
souls  made  him  the  true  "Fisher  of  Men'  which  his 
biographer  depicts  him  to  be. 

His  body  was  brought  from  Augusta  to  New  Ham- 
burgh. "The  progress  of  the  funeral  party  resembled  a 
devotional  pilgrimage.  All  the  way  from  Augusta  to 
New  Hamburgh,  wherever  a  change  was  made,  the  body 
was  met  by  former  friends  and  associates,  clergymen  and 
laymen."  l  A  service  was  held  in  Trinity  Church,  Co- 
lumbia, at  which  Bishop  Capers  gave  an  address  in  the 
course  of  which  he  said:  "It  is  an  inexpressible  honor 
to  have  reared  such  a  son  and  given  him  to  God  in  His 
holy   ministry,    and   now  that   you   are   called   upon,    my 

1  "A  Fisher  of  Men,"  p.  169. 


1905]  CHIAROSCURO  279 

dear  brother,  to  give  him  back  to  God,  it  is  strength 
and  peace  to  know  that  his  bishop  and  brethren,  the 
vestry  and  the  congregation  of  Trinity  assure  you  that 
his  ministry  was  an  honor  to  him  and  to  you,  and  a 
blessing  to  the  people.''  At  the  conclusion  of  the  address, 
"Bishop  Satterlee,  leaving  his  pew  and  standing  in  the 
aisle  beside  the  casket,  closed  the  service  by  pronouncing 
the  benediction.'3  When,  two  days  later,  Churchill's 
body  was  laid  in  its  last  resting  place  amid  the  surround- 
ings where  he  was  born  and  had  spent  his  boyhood  days, 
the  father  bestowed  his  last  caress  of  love  upon  his  son's 
mortal  remains  by  reading  the  Committal  in  the  Burial 
Service. 

In  answer  to  a  letter  of  sympathy  from  Mrs.  Russell, 
he  writes: 

TO   MRS.    RUSSELL 

February  2^  1904.  —  Thank  you  ever  so  much  for  your 
sympathy.  Your  letter  was  a  great  comfort  to  us  and  deepens 
the  bond  of  union  between  us  —  Churchill's  death  was  wholly 
unexpected,  and  has  been  a  shock  that  completely  bewildered 
us.  Yet  beneath  all  the  deep  sorrow  runs  a  deeper  current  of 
thankfulness  to  God  for  having  given  us  such  a  son.  He  has 
done  a  remarkable  work  in  his  short  life,  and  fell  at  his  post  as 
a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  That  consciousness  is  our  main- 
stay in  these  days.  Tell  Mr.  Russell  and  the  children  how 
gratefully  we  appreciate  their  sympathy.  It  is  a  help  to  us  that 
you  who  knew  him  could  write  as  you  did  about  him.  God 
bless  you  for  it. 

The  correspondence  in  connection  with  the  biography  of 
Churchill  by  the  Rev.  Hamilton  Schuyler  is  full  of  interest: 

TO   THE    REV.    H.    SCHUYLER 

Jan.  iQtb,  1905.  —  I  have  just  received  your  letter,  and  read 
its  enclosures.  I  was  not  altogether  unprepared  for  the  story 
they  told.  I  have  not  lost  faith  in  the  book  in  any  way.  I 
believe  that  it  is  full  of  inspiration,  and  that  it  will  be  espe- 
cially helpful  to  young  men,  who  are  preparing  for  the  Minis- 
try. It  sounds  a  chord  that  is  not  often  touched  in  these  days, 
and  which  really  vibrates  in  human  hearts,  and  it  may  induce 
others  in  these  days  to  study  for  the  Ministry. 


28o  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1904 

The  very  facl:  that  being  a  biography  of  so  young  a  clergy- 
man who  had  not  yet  made  a  mark  upon  the  church,  is  an 
advantage,  —  if  once  it  could  gain  attention  and  become  gen- 
erally circulated,  it  would  be  of  great  help. 

I  think  of  course  that  the  book  ought  to  be  brought  to  the 
attention  of  personal  friends  in  New  York,  New  Hamburgh, 
Morganton,  Columbia  and  perhaps  Washington.  I  think  my 
daughter  and  daughter-in-law  can  very  easily  make  up  a  list 
of  a  thousand  names  in  these  places,  but  the  clientele  that  I 
am  especially  thinking  of,  is  the  student  class,  members  of  the 
G.  T.  S.  and  other  Seminaries. 

I  am  trying  to  look  out  of  their  eyes,  and  to  think  their 
thoughts,  regarding  such  a  book,  and  in  this  connection,  I  have 
a  suggestion  to  offer. 

How  would  it  do  to  have  a  short  introduction,  not  a  pref- 
ace, written  for  the  work  by  the  Bishop  of  South  Carolina, 
with  special  reference,  to  Churchill's  influence  upon  young  men, 
who  might  be  thinking  of  the  ministry?  The  Bishop  of  South 
Carolina,  speaking  as  an  outsider,  might  thus  point  more  em- 
phatically to  this  characteristic  in  Churchill's  life,  than  those 
have  done,  or  could  do,  in  the  body  of  the  work,  without  de- 
parting from  the  rules  which  you  have  so  wisely  made  for  your- 
self in  writing  it. 

I  am  not  clear  in  my  own  mind  about  this,  and  I  simply 
throw  it  out  as  a  suggestion.     What  do  you  think? 

Regarding  this  aftermath,  in  considering  it,  and  looking  at 
it  out  of  the  eyes  of  a  young  student,  I  feel  that  this  might  also 
make  an  impression.  A  young  man  would  be  very  apt  to  say 
to  himself,  if  this  is  the  way  in  which  a  young  clergyman  who 
is  unknown  to  the  world,  is  living  most  earnestly,  and  attract- 
ing the  attention  of  Bishops  and  others,  I  might  gain  the  same 
kind  of  recognition  in  my  future  work. 

I  think,  however,  that  if  the  aftermath  is  published  at  all, 
it  ought  to  be  distinctly  separate  and  appear  in  smaller  type. 

It  was  wisely  decided  to  let  the  book  go  forth  without 
employing  the  doubtful  expedient  of  a  preface  from  an- 
other hand.     To  his  daughter-in-law  the  Bishop  said: 

TO  MRS.    CHURCHILL   SATTERLEE 

Dear  Lellie:  Let  us  try  all  that  we  can  to  perfect  this 
biography.     I    echo  Schuyler's    words  since   my  visit  South,  I 


THE    REV.     CHURCHILL     S  AT  T  E  R  L  E  E 

AND     HIS     SON 


1905]  CHIAROSCURO  281 

have  come  to  realize  ChurchilPs  greatness  in  a  way  I,  his  own 
father,  had  never  known.  I  feel  as  though  I  know  Churchill 
now,  better  than  I  ever  did  in  his  life  time. 

Long  after  the  book  had  won  its  way  into  the  lives  of 
its  readers,  Bishop  Satterlee,  on  his  last  Christmas  Eve 
on  earth,  wrote  to  the  author: 

TO  THE    REV.    H.    SCHUYLER 

Dec.  24,  1907.  —  I  will  not  take  the  bloom  off  your  peach, 
especially  at  this  Xmas  time,  though  I  am  sorely  tempted  to 
do  so. 

I  never  gave  a  second  thought  to  what  I  advanced  for  the 
book,  I  only  thought  of  my  deep  gratitude  for  you  for  writing 
it,  and  whatever  royalty  came  back,  I  feel  ought  to  go  to  you. 
But  after  your  letter  (returning  me  the  cheque),  with  your 
affectionate  delicacy,  I  cannot  return  it  a  second  time.  And 
on  this  Christmas  Eve,  I  am  writing  with  a  very  full  heart  to 
you,   my  dear   boy. 

You  have  enriched  my  life  by  your  life  of  Churchill,  by  which 
he,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh.  Every  now  and  then,  I  hear  of 
one  and  another,  whose  lives  have  been  influenced  by  reading 
"The  Fisher  of  Men."  The  sales  may  be  slow  and  the  copies 
distributed  may  not  be  many.  But  those  that  find  their  way 
to  different  homes,  have  also  found  their  way  to  unexpected 
hearts,  and  I  know  of  a  few  persons,  and  I  am  sure  there  are 
others  whose  names  are  known  unto  God. 

Then  think  of  the  priceless  heritage  you  have  given  to  his 
two  sons.  No  treasure  they  can  inherit  in  after  life  will  be  equal 
to   this    treasure. 

And  they  will,  with  God's  good  help,  feel  that  they  have  to 
live  up  to  this,  their  father's  standing  of  Faith  and  Service. 
If  I  was  in  their  place,  I  could  not  banish  this  responsibility 
from  mine.  God  grant  that  they  may  enter  the  Ministry.  If 
they  do,  humanly  speaking  it  will  be  through  you  and  "The 
Fisher  of  Men." 

I  wish  I  could  have  been  with  you  at  Knight's  consecration, 
but  it  was  impossible  after  the  three  days'  absence  at  Wash- 
ington   and    New   York. 

The  Bishop  immediately  resumed  the  routine  of  his 
work.     His  grief  was  a  tide  too  deep  for  sound  or  foam. 


282  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1904 

Then,  too,  he  was  possessed  by  such  convictions  as  to 
the  meaning  of  death  to  the  Christian,  and  its  inability 
to  interfere  with  fundamental  human  relationships,  that 
he  instinctively  grasped  that  comfort  of  God  which  is 
pledged  to  the  mourner,  and  cheered  those  who  would 
have  sympathized  with  him.  Added  to  the  inevitable 
strain  of  the  series  of  sorrows  which  had  descended  on 
him,  he  was  weighted  heavily  by  the  burden  of  the 
Cathedral  mortgage,  and  anxieties  connected  with  his 
responsibility  as  Provisional  Bishop  of  Mexico.  The 
Panama  Canal  Zone  was  about  to  be  taken  over  from  the 
Bishop  of  Honduras  by  the  American  Church,  and  this 
too  fell  upon  his  shoulders  as  a  member  of  the  special 
Committee  of  the  Board  of  Managers.  The  result  of 
the  prolonged  and  heavy  strain  was  an  illness  that  began 
with  recurrent  grippe,  and  developed  into  typhoid  fever. 
For  six  weeks  he  was  confined  to  his  bed.  "In  the  loving 
providence  of  God,  and  owing  to  the  great  care  and  skill 
of  my  physician,  Dr.  Middleton  F.  Cuthbert,  I  was 
brought  through  this  quite  serious  attack  of  fever  without 
any  complications  whatever,  and  though  I  kept  to  my 
bed  from  May  30th  to  July  12th,  there  is  no  memory  of 
all  this  time  that  is  painful  to  look  back  upon,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  I  have  nothing  but  memories  of  peace, 
quiet  and  thankfulness/'  But  the  aftermath  of  his 
illness  was  a  permanent  weakness  of  the  heart  that 
left  it  unequal  to  the  tax  laid  upon  it  four  years  later, 
when  he  lay  upon  his  last  bed  of  sickness. 

He  spent  part  of  the  summer  during  convalescence 
on  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  was  full  of  the  approaching 
visit  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Dr.  Davidson). 
He  was  not  able  to  attend  public  services  from  the  time 
he  was  seized  with  typhoid  until  September  18,  when  he 
was  present  in  St.  Saviour's  Church,  Bar  Harbor,  where 
the  Archbishop  celebrated  the  Holy  Communion. 

The  Archbishop  he  had  known  as  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, so  he  greeted  him  as  a  friend,  and  during  his 
sojourn  in  Washington  entertained  him  and  Mrs.  David- 


1905]  CHIAROSCURO  283 

son  at  his  house.  The  Archbishop's  advent  to  America 
was  notable  as  being  the  first  occasion  in  history  of  a 
Primate  of  All  England  visiting  our  Church  and  country. 
His  host  during  his  stay  was  the  late  J.  Pierpont  Morgan. 
Efforts  were  not  spared  to  make  the  Archbishop  feel 
that  he  was  in  the  house  of  his  friends.  Nor  could  any- 
one have  done  more  to  obliterate  the  traditional  prej- 
udice against  English  prelates,  especially  archbishops, 
than  Dr.  Davidson.  His  quiet  manner,  his  simplicity 
and  directness,  his  wise  and  measured  words  whenever 
and  wherever  he  spoke,  laid  many  ghosts  and  won  the 
confidence  of  the  people.  He  came  with  the  unfeigned 
humility  of  a  learner,  and  he  enriched  those  to  whom 
he  looked  for  riches.  Mr.  Morgan  took  him  on  his  yacht, 
the  "Corsair,"  to  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point, 
among  other  places  of  note,  Gen.  Oliver  accompanying 
the  party.  Unexpectedly,  the  Archbishop,  who  was 
dressed  for  a  day's  outing,  found  himself  the  most  con- 
spicuous figure  in  a  review  of  the  cadets.  If  the  Arch- 
bishop felt  any  embarrassment  at  being  thus  taken 
unawares  he  did  not  show  it.  And,  perhaps,  he  was  un- 
conscious that  the  fact  that  at  this  function  he  wore 
no  distinguishing  dress  caught  the  American  imagination 
more  than  had  he  worn  the  traditional  garb  of  the  Eng- 
lish episcopate.  It  was  worth  while  waiting  for  a  century 
and  a  quarter  for  a  visit  to  the  American  continent  of 
an  English  Primate,  if  at  last  one  should  come  so  well 
fitted  by  character  and  experience  to  sweep  away  mis- 
conceptions, and  to  strengthen  the  cords  that  bind  two 
Christian  nations  each  to  each. 

The  Sunday  (September  25)  spent  by  the  Archbishop 
in  Washington  was  memorable.  He  celebrated  the  Holy 
Communion  at  St.  John's  Church  in  the  morning.  Bishop 
Satterlee,  with  customary  grace  and  self-effacement,  had 
asked  one  of  the  younger  Missionary  Bishops  to  preach. 
In  the  afternoon  came  the  consecration  of  the  Cathedral 
Altar  Cross,  and  the  open-air  service  which  was  always  a 
joy   to   the    Bishop.     The    year   previous    in    his  Journal 


284  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1904 

(June  21)  there  is  an  entry  that  expresses  his  feelings: 
"In  the  afternoon  I  officiated  at  the  open  air  service 
in  the  Cathedral  close.  This  Cathedral  service  was  as 
impressive  and  devotional,  I  am  sure,  as  any  future 
service  can  ever  be,  even  when  the  great  Cathedral  is 
finished,  with  its  trained  Choir,  and  its  eloquent  sermons, 
because  of  its  various  devotional  elements.'3  No  one 
who  has  not  seen  this  natural  Cathedral  with  its  green- 
sward for  pavement,  its  trees  for  pillars,  its  vistas  that 
reach  past  Capitol  and  Monument  to  the  blue  rim  of 
the  world,  can  understand  what  a  sanctuary  it  is,  and 
how  suited  to  the  Cathedral  of  stone  which  is  now  slowly 
rising  to  crown  it.  To  quote  again  from  the  Bishop's 
Journal,  (September  25,  1904): 

The  Archbishop  entered  the  Cathedral  grounds  through  All 
Hallows  Gate,  where  the  carriage  stopped,  and  the  Archbishop 
and  those  with  him  here   alighted. 

Before  we  passed  into  the  archway,  the  Archbishop  was 
greatly  impressed  with  the  view  of  the  City  of  Washington  and 
the  Capitol  in  the  centre.  Near  the  Little  Sanduary,  and  in 
what  will  be  the  Southwest  corner  of  the  Cloister  of  the  Cathe- 
dral, the  Archbishop  planted  an  English  oak,  presented  by  the 
Foresters  of  the  United  States. 

After  he  and  the  other  Bishops  had  robed,  and  while  the 
procession  was  forming,  the  Archbishop,  seated  in  the  Glas- 
tonbury Cathedra,  most  generously  offered  to  donate  some 
stones  from  Canterbury  Cathedral  to  the  Washington  Cathedral. 

The  service  then  began.  The  Archbishop,  standing  in  front 
of  the  Jerusalem  Altar,  and  using  the  new  Altar-book  rest, 
consecrated  the  Cathedral  Altar  Cross  with  the  following  prayer, 
which  had  been  partly  composed  by  him: 

"O  Father  of  Mercies  and  God  of  Love,  whose  only-begotten 
Son  was  lifted  up  that  He  might  draw  all  men  unto  Him;  may 
this  Altar  Cross  be  a  ceaseless  reminder,  to  all  who  shall  enter  this 
Sanctuary  of  Christ  crucified,  of  the  fellowship  of  His  sufferings, 
and  of  the  power  of  His  resurrection.  Especially  do  we  ask  Thy 
blessing  on  all  those  who  shall  receive  here  the  blessed  Sacrament 
of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ;  through  Him  who  loved  us  and 
gave  Himself  for  us,  the  same  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." 


1905]  CHIAROSCURO  285 

Afterwards  he  said  the  following  prayer  for  unity,  as  he  stood 
before  the  Glastonbury  Cathedra,  which  also  was  partly  com- 
posed by  him: 

"O  Righteous  Father,  we  glorify  Thee  for  the  godly  unity 
and  concord  of  all  those  who  are  knit  together  in  communion 
and  fellowship  within  our  branch  of  Thy  Holy  Catholic  Church. 
We  thank  Thee  for  the  continuity  of  their  Apostolic  Ministry 
of  grace  and  truth,  of  which  this  Cathedra  is  an  emblem  and 
witness.  Keep,  we  beseech  Thee,  all  Christians  through  Thine 
own  Name,  that  they  may  be  one  even  as  Thou  art  one;  and 
grant  that  all  men  everywhere  may  know  Thee,  the  only  true 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast  sent.  Hear  us  for  the 
worthiness  of  the  same  Thy  Son,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen.,, 

The  procession  then  began  to  move  on,  comprising  all  the 
vested  choirs  of  the  churches  of  Washington,  followed  by  the 
clergy  of  the  Diocese  and  visiting  clergy,  preceded  by  the 
Marine  Band  in  cassocks  and  cottas,  after  which  came  the 
following  Bishops:  The  Bishop  of  Maryland,  the  Bishop  of 
Albany,  the  Bishop  of  Boise,  the  Bishop  of  Fond  du  Lac,  the 
Bishop  of  Easton,  the  Bishop  of  Cape  Palmas,  the  Bishop  of 
Georgia,  the  Bishop  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  the  Bishop  of 
Washington,  and  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Penick.  Then  came  the 
Archbishop's  chaplain,  Mr.  Holden,  with  the  magnificent  pro- 
cessional cross,  presented  to  the  Primates  of  England  by  the 
Convocation  of  Canterbury,  the  Archbishop  himself,  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Holden  in  the  rear.  The  Archbishop  was  attired  in 
his  red  convocation  robes.  The  ministers  of  other  Christian 
bodies  had  been  invited  to  seats  on  the  platform.  The  Arch- 
bishop occupied  the  old  historic  chair  of  Grotius,  Hugo  de  Grot, 
of  Holland,  a.d.  1 566.  This  was  all  the  more  interesting  be- 
cause Grotius  died  a  communicant  of  the  Church  of  England. 
The  music  was  led  by  the  full  Marine  Band. 

Mrs.  Davidson  occupied  a  seat  between  Mrs.  Roosevelt  and 
Mrs.  Satterlee,  with  other  ladies  of  the  Cabinet. 

The  service  was  read  by  the  Bishops  of  Georgia,  Cape  Palmas, 
Philippine  Islands,  Maryland  and  Boise.  The  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Bishop  of  Albany.  The  Salutation  was  deliv- 
ered by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who  also  read  the 
prayer  for  Church  Unity  in  the  Institution  Office,  and  delivered 
the  benediction. 

Over  thirty-five  thousand   persons  were  present,  it  was  after- 


286  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1904 

wards  announced  by  the  newspapers.  There  was  no  break  or 
hitch  to  mar  the  occasion,  and  the  Archbishop  said,  after  the 
service,  that  he  had  been  used  to  public  functions  all  his  life, 
but  that  he  had  never  seen  one  more  complicated,  nor  one  that 
had  been  more  perfectly  arranged  for  than  this. 

After  the  service  was  over  there  was  a  short  reception  held 
at  the  Cathedral  School,  at  which  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  and 
visiting  Clergy,  as  well  as  the  ministers  of  other  Christian  bodies 
in  Washington,  were  presented  to  the  Archbishop. 

Though  Bishop  Satterlee  was  not  yet  in  vigorous 
health,  he  attended  the  General  Convention  in  Boston 
and  entered  into  its  sessions  with  his  usual  interest. 
Two  letters  to  Mrs.  Rives  were  written  from  his  desk  in 
the  House  of  Bishops: 

Oftober  7,  1904.  —  I  was  interrupted  in  writing  this  letter, 
and  it  wasjeft  on  my  desk  by  accident  —  since  that  time  we 
have  been  moving  onward.  The  Archbishop  has  developed  a 
power  which  is  surprising  to  all  here.  He  speaks  daily.  Never 
repeats  himself  and  all  that  he  says  is  ethical,  to  the  point, — 
and  helpful.  I  have  scarcely  seen  him  personally  he  is  so  oc- 
cupied. At  this  moment  he  is  attending  a  citizens*  reception 
altogether  outside  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  .  .  . 

The  people  of  Boston  are  evidently  deeply  interested  in  the 
General  Convention,  in  fa<5t,  in  no  place  have  I  seen  a  deeper 
interest  manifested,  if  one  can  judge  by  crowded  services. 

I  think  we  shall  probably  elecl  a  bishop  for  Mexico. 

Dr.  McKim  l  has  gained  many  laurels  for  himself  by  the  way 
in  which  he  presides  over  the  lower  house. 

TO   MRS.    RIVES 

Oft.  12,  1904.  —  The  work  here  is  thickening  so  fast  that  it 
will  be  impossible  for  me  to  leave  Boston  before  next  Monday. 
I  am  very  sorry  because  this  shortens  my  visit  to  Lenox.  But 
the  election  of  a  Bishop  for  the  Mexican  Church:  the  impor- 
tance of  inaugurating  a  work  among  the  immigrants:  the  settle- 
ment of  the  question  of  suffrage  and,  above  all,  the  education 
of  colored  candidates  for  Holy  Orders,  these  are  subjects  which 
demand  my  presence.     If    I    should   leave  Boston  before  some 

1  Dr.  McKim  was  ele&ed  President  of  the  House  of  Deputies  which  position 
he  held  with  distinction  in  three  General  Conventions —  1904,  1907,  1910. 


1905]  CHIAROSCURO  287 

of  them  are  settled    I    might  have    to    be  summoned  back  by 
telegraph. 

All  is  going  on  well  and  quietly.  It  is  surprising  how  great 
the  interest  is  when  there  is  so  little  fighting.  I  suppose  it  is 
the  presence  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  (The  Bishops 
of  Ripon  and  Hereford  are  also  here.)  I  am  writing  in  the 
House  of  Bishops  while  the  speaking  is  going  on,  and  therefore 
as  I  have  to  keep  my  ears  wide  open  my  letters  may  seem  to 
you  a  little  incoherent. 

The  thing  that  absorbed  his  attention  chiefly  during 
the  months  that  intervened  between  General  Convention 
and  the  following  spring,  when  he  went  abroad  for  recu- 
peration and  treatment,  was  the  Lane  Johnston  Choir 
School  (National  Cathedral  School  for  Boys).  A  legacy 
of  #300,000  had  been  left  by  Mrs.  Harriet  Lane  Johnston, 
about  one  half  of  which  bequest  was  to  be  expended  in 
the  erection  of  the  buildings,  and  the  balance  as  an  endow- 
ment fund,  "for  the  free  education  and  maintenance  of 
Choirboys,  principally  of  the  great  Cathedral  itself.  The 
value  of  this  bequest  will  be  appreciated,  when  we  con- 
sider that  this  will  not  only  lift  the  Washington  Cathe- 
dral into  a  position  where  the  best  facilities  in  Church 
music  shall  be  gained  in  an  honor  school,  where  the  reli- 
gious, and  intellectual,  as  well  as  musical,  qualifications 
of  the  pupils  will  be  carefully  examined,  but  also  that 
that  which  is  the  greatest  expense  generally  in  the  con- 
duct of  Cathedral  services  is  already  provided  for,  before 
a  stone  of  the  edifice  is  laid."  ' 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1904,  p.  35. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

AD    INTERIM 

1905 

The  wisest  men 

That  e'er  you  ken 

Have  never  deemed  it  treason 

To  rest  a  bit 

And  jest  a  bit 

And  balance  up  their  reason; 

To  laugh  a  bit 

And  chaff  a  bit 

And  joke  a  bit  in  season. 

M.    G.    KAINS 

BEFORE  the  1905  meeting  of  his  Diocesan  Conven- 
tion the  Bishop  was  obliged  to  go  abroad  in  search 
of  health.  He  had  been  urged  to  go  in  the  fall  of 
1904  but  felt  obliged  to  defer  the  trip  until  the  following 
spring.  He  and  his  family  sailed  for  Bremen  on  April  29, 
1905.  On  the  eve  of  his  departure  he  wrote  the  Presiding 
Bishop  the  following  letter: 

TO   BISHOP  TUTTLE 

April  26th,  1905.  —  There  is  one  subject  that  I  am  strongly 
moved  to  request  that  you  will  bring  before  the  House  of 
Bishops. 

Our  Lord  tells  us  to  watch  the  signs  of  the  times.  If  we 
pray  earnestly  the  Lord's  Prayer,  that  petition,  "Thy  King- 
dom come"  —  in  itself,  makes  the  Church  prophetic.  Her 
members  are  sure  of  the  coming  of  God's  Kingdom,  and  there- 
fore are  able  to  see  farther  into  the  future  than  those  who  have 
not  this  faith. 

At  the  present  day  the  whole  religious  atmosphere,  in  some 
of  its  aspe&s,  is  artificial  and  unreal.  There  is  a  spirit  of  un- 
belief, prompting  men  not  only  to  deny  the  Christian  religion, 
but  the  teachings  of  natural  religion,  which  is  as  much  a  part 
of  our  human  nature,  as  the  physical  body  or  the  human  mind. 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  289 

Christ  takes  natural  religion  for  granted  in  His  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  and  throughout  the  Gospels.  It  is  the  foundation 
upon  which  He  builds.  The  consciousness  of  personal  short- 
coming and  sin  which  is  a  part  of  natural  religion  in  these  times, 
has  been  smothered,  and  hence  men  are  deaf  to  the  Gospel 
call.  The  man-made  influences  of  big  cities,  material  advance- 
ment, science  and  manufactures,  have  stifled  the  religious  instinct 
of  higher  things  and  deeper  human  needs.  As  a  thunder  storm 
clears  the  atmosphere,  so  there  always  is  a  reaction  in  the  natural 
and  spiritual  worlds  when  conditions  have  become  abnormal. 

Everywhere  in  England  and  America  there  is  a  feeling  abroad, 
that  a  great  religious  reaction  or  reformation  or  revival  of  some 
kind,  must  come  in  the  near  future.  Now,  when,  or  in  what 
way,  it  will  come,  we  cannot  tell.  It  is  not  for  us  to  know  the 
time  nor  the  seasons,  but  we  do  know  from  human  experience 
and  all  Church  history  of  the  past,  that  such  a  movement  must 
begin  in  the  conviction  of  sin. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  the  time  is  opportune  for  the  House 
of  Bishops  to  utter  its  voice  in  clear  ringing  tones.  If  some 
kind  of  a  message  should  unexpectedly  come  from  the  whole 
House  of  Bishops,  calling  upon  our  people  to  awaken  from 
their  covetousness,  sordidness,  indifference  and  apathy  to  the 
reality  of  human  sin,  I  believe,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  that 
such  a  message  just  at  this  present  moment  and  in  the  present 
condition  of  popular  feeling,  will  have  a  profound  effect.  People 
are  ready  for  it. 

My  dear  Bishop,  I  have  written  with  halting  words,  for  I 
am  not  feeling  well,  and  have  not  expressed  myself  as  clearly 
as  I  wished  to  do  on  this  momentous  subject,  but  I  think  you 
will  comprehend  my  meaning,  and  I  do  hope  you  will  bring  this 
subject  to  the  attention  of  the  House  of  Bishops  in  June. 

During  his  stay  in  Nauheim  he  spent  a  good  deal  of 
his  time  with  the  Hon.  John  Hay,  Secretary  of  State, 
who  was  also  taking  baths.  A  little  more  than  a  month 
later  Mr.  Hay  died,  and  the  Bishop  attended  the  Memo- 
rial Service  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  London,  as  repre- 
senting the  American  Church.  While  in  London,  Con- 
vocation was  in  session  and  he  was  introduced  by  the 
Archbishop  to  the  Upper,  and  by  the  Prolocutor  to  the 
Lower,  House,  making  short  addresses  on  both  occasions. 


29o  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

He  returned  to  Nauheim  for  further  treatment,  and  later 
went  to  Switzerland  where  he  visited  Axenstein  of  fra- 
grant memories. 

Sept.  5.  —  This  day  I  went  to  Axenstein,  and  there  we  all 
had  a  short  service,  where  twelve  years  ago  my  son  Churchill 
had  announced  his  decision  to  study  for  the  Ministry. 

While  in  Italy  he  devoted  a  day  "to  the  memory  of 
Savonarola.  Went  to  the  spot  where  he  was  burned,  then 
to  the  Piazza  della  Signoria,  and  then  to  the  Monastery 
of  St.  Mark's.  In  Savonarola's  cell  we  read  responsively 
Psalm  51,  which  was  the  subject  of  Savonarola's  last 
meditation,  on  the  night  before  he  was  burned."  * 

Almost  the  only  time  that  the  Bishop  managed  to 
secure  leisure  in  which  to  write  letters  of  the  old-fashioned 
sort,  such  as  our  ancestors  wrote  when  life  was  not 
synonymous  with  speed,  was  when  he  was  abroad.  The 
following  letters  and  extracts  are  full  of  interest.  In 
some  the  soul  of  the  boy  still  leaps: 

TO  MRS.  A.  D.  RUSSELL  FROM  BAD  NAUHEIM,  GERMANY 

May  Jp,  1905.  —  It  is  three  weeks  to-day  since  I  saw  you. 
How  the  days  have  glided  by.  My  better  half  told  you  what 
a  wonderfully  smooth  and  prosperous  voyage  we  had  in  the 
"Kroonland."  After  a  day  in  Antwerp,  to  see  the  Cathedral, 
and  a  night  at  Cologne  for  the  same  object,  we  arrived  here  and 
are  staying  in  a  comfortable  villa,  near  to  everything.  Opposite 
us  is  the  Kaiser  Hof,  where  Secretary  Hay  and  Mr.  Mason 
(Consul  General  at  Berlin)  are.  And  a  little  further  on,  near 
the  Kur  Haus  are  the  Mahans  and  Mrs.  Chadwick.  These  are 
all  the  Americans  we  know,  but,  as  with  the  Doctor's  consent, 
I  officiated  at  a  short  service  of  the  unveiling  of  the  chancel 
windows  of  the  Anglo-American  Church,  day  before  yesterday, 
many  of  the  English  people  who  were  present  were  introduced 
to  us,  and  I  meet  them  everywhere,  with  the  inward  torture  of 
not  knowing  their  names. 

We  are  greatly  impressed  with  Dr.  Schott.  People  talk 
against  him  saying  he  is  a  little  rasping  German  Jew,  but  I 
find  him  scientific,  skillful,  full  of  kindness  and  sympathy.     He 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1906,  p.  49. 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  291 

is  greatly  interested  in  the  Church,  as  he  was  the  one  who 
started  and  collected  most  of  the  funds  to  build  it.  I  was  told 
that  he  was  "progressive."  He  is  indeed,  but  at  the  same 
time  he  is  more  cautious  and  conservative  in  his  treatment,  I 
find,  than  any  other  doctor  at  Nauheim.  He  says  I  have  "a 
hard  workers  heart  debilitated  by  typhoid  fever"  and  added 
"My  dear  Beeshop,  I  have  received  letters  about  you,  you  are 
accused  on  all  sides.  You  must  rest  —  rest,  rest.  You  must 
come  here  twice  this  summer  and  I  will  make  you  perfectly 
well."  I  wish  you  could  see  his  menu.  It  is  a  delicious  bill  of 
fare  —  or  would  be,  if  each  dish  were  not  preceded  by  the 
word  "no."  Fancy  this  Barmecides  feast!  "No  tea,  no  coffee, 
no  wine,  no  beer,  no  effervescing  mineral  waters.  No  seasoned 
food,  no  salted  food,  no  farinaceous  food,  no  ices,  no  smoking 
—  and  so  on."  It's  just  like  another  Lent,  only  more  so;  and 
no  father  confessor  could  be  more  strict.  He  won't  budge  an 
inch.  Secretary  Hay  said  he  heard  two  German  epicures  talk- 
ing in  the  bath  house.  Said  one  to  the  other.  "Reduced  to 
only  one  bottle  of  Rudesheimer  a  day?  My  poor,  poor  friend." 
As  though  the  one  bottle  were  the  indivisible  atom. 

We  expect  to  remain  here  a  month  and  then  shall  go  to  Eng- 
land for  several  weeks,  for  I  feel  that  the  time  has  come  when 
I  should  know  more  accurately  and  definitely  some  of  the  details 
about  the  working  of  the  Cathedral  system.  I  hope  to  meet 
two  of  my  clergy  there,  who  will  do  all  the  hard  work  that 
has  to  be  done,  for  they  also  are  so  keenly  interested  that  this 
will  only  add  a  greater  zest  to  their  vacation  pleasure. 

The  Archbishop  has  most  kindly  invited  us  to  stay  with  him 
for  a  few  days.  He  appreciates  as  greatly  as  I  do,  that  an 
American  Cathedral  must  be  assimilated  to  American  life,  and 
that  for  us  there  is,  in  the  English  Cathedral  system  as  much 
to  be  avoided  as  to  be  Americanized. 

TO    DR.    DE    VRIES 

May  25,  IQ05. — Welcome  to  old  England!  I  hope  that  you 
had  a  prosperous  voyage.  When  I  went  in  the  Atlantic  Transport 
with  Bishop  Paret  and  Walpole  Warren,  we  had  a  load  of  cattle 
aboard  with  farm  yard  sounds.     It  was  a  unique  experience. 

"The  ship's  bell  tolled  the  knell  of  parting  day, 
The  lowing  herd   sailed   slowly  o'er  the  sea" 

&c. 


292  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1905 

I  wish  I  could  be  on  the  dock  to  meet  you  and  greet  you, 
but  here  we  are  at  Nauheim.  I  am  taking  the  sprudel  baths 
and  the  Dr.  says  that  I  was  all  run  down,  with  "a  hard  worker's 
heart,"  but  am  doing  well.  We  shall  remain  here  at  Nauheim 
until  June  8-12  when  the  Dr.  says  I  can  go  to  England,  provided 
I  return  here  in  July  for  another  dreary  period  of  Nirvana. 
Think  of  spending  two  precious  months  of  my  European  stay 
in  a  bath!     O  temporal     O  mores! 

I  am  afraid  that  I  cannot  therefore  go  with  you  to  Iona,  but 
I  shall  give  you  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of 
Argyle  and  the  Isles.  If  you  are  not  able  to  go  and  see  him 
personally,  why  then  present  this  letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  S. 
...  (I  forget  his  name)  Curator  of  the  Iona  Cathedral. 

I  wish  you  could  find  out  whether  the  marble  of  Iona  is 
fine  enough  to  be  used  in  cutting  statuettes  and  bas  reliefs  for 
the  Canterbury  Ambon.  I  fear  it  is  not;  that  nothing  but 
Carrara  marble  will  serve  the  purpose,  for  of  course  the  work- 
manship must  be  very  neatly  done.  However,  it  may  be  that 
we  could  use  the  Iona  marble  for  some  other  objecl:  in  the 
Cathedral  of  Washington. 

Striflly  confidential 

The  Archbishop  is  going  to  give  us  quite  a  lot  of  old  stone  of 
the  Canterbury  Cathedral,  considerably  more  than  a  cubic 
yard.  I  think  I  shall  have  the  design  made  by  some  English 
Ecclesiastical  Architect,  who  understands  the  historical  impor- 
tance and  meaning  of  a  gift  from  Canterbury  Cathedral  to  the 
Washington  Cathedral  in  memory  of  Stephen  Langton. 

If  possible  I  want  to  have  these  two  ideas  set  forth,  1st 
Stephen  Langton  —  Magna  Charta,  Runnymede:  2nd  the 
History  of  the  English  Bible  and  its  gradual  evolution,  Alfred 
the  Great  (Commandments),  Aldhelm  of  Sherborne  (Psalms), 
Bede  (St.  John's  Gospel),  Wyclif  (English  Bible),  Tyndale  (Eng- 
lish Bible),  Coverdale  Bible,  Cranmer's  Bible,  Great  Bible, 
King  James'   Bible,   Revised  Version. 

Of  course  all  these  could  not  be  brought  in,  but  we  might 
have  four  statuettes  at  angles  of  Ambon,  three  bas  reliefs.  1st 
central  and  most  important  one,  Abp.  Langton  at  Runnymede, 
with  Magna  Charta  in  his  hand  beneath  the  oak,  Barons  around. 
2nd,  Death-bed  scene  of  Bede  completing  Gospel  of  S.  John. 
3rd  I  have  not  determined;    many  subjeds  present  themselves 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  293 

to  my  mind.  The  Jerusalem  chamber  where  the  revised  version 
was  made  would  be  interesting,  but  I  can  think  of  no  prominent 
person  connected  therewith  unless  it  be  Lightfoot  or  Westcott. 

I  want  the  Ambon  to  be  educational  to  the  visitors  who  come 
to  the  Cathedral  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  showing 
that  the  Magna  Charta  is  founded  on  the  Bible,  and  that  the 
English  translation  of  the  Bible  was  the  work  of  the  Church  of 
England.  I  want  you  to  think  up  some  scene  for  the  3rd  bas 
relief.  The  names  of  the  various  translations  of  the  Bible 
might  be  inserted  in  brass  letters  on  the  risers  and  heads  of  the 
3   steps  to  the  Ambon. 

Of  course  it  is  yet  uncertain  whether  we  shall  have  the  Can- 
terbury stones  positively,  or  whether  the  architect  would  advise 
marble  statuettes  and  bas  reliefs  inserted  in  the  stones,  and 
therefore  this  is  all  confidential. 

TO   HIS    BROTHER   ARTHUR 

May  29,  1905.  —  Here  we  are  at  Bad  Nauheim,  I  hope  to 
find  it  good  Nauheim  before  I  leave.  We  had  the  best  crossing 
I  have  ever  experienced.  Fair  weather,  smooth  seas.  We 
stayed  a  day  at  Antwerp  to  see  the  old  Cathedral  and  S. 
Jacques.  Then  went  to  Cologne,  where  we  spent  most  of  the 
afternoon  in  the  Cathedral;  then  took  an  automobile  drive.  The 
new  parts  of  the  city  are  like  Paris.  It  is  not  only  American 
cities  which  grow.  Both  Antwerp  and  Cologne  have  doubled 
in  population  in  the  last  50  years  and  have  each  over  300,000. 
Then  we  went  up  the  Rhine:  but  it  is  not  satisfactory  to  be 
whisked  past  those  interesting  old  castles  by  rail.  "  There  is 
Stolzenfels,  look!"  "Where?"  "Oh,  you  are  too  late.  It  is 
behind  those  freight  cars."  Then  we  went  to  Frankfort.  I 
remember  on  a  very  hot  day  twenty-five  years  ago,  I  was  then 
at  the  "Frankfort  Hof"  with  my  youngest  brother.  He  was 
very  thirsty  and  our  rooms  were  on  the  top  floor.  As  he  reached 
them,  he  tugged  at  the  bell  rope.  "Waiter!  Kellner!  ice 
water:  Ja,  ice  wasser."  So  the  waiter  went  and  brought  up  a 
jug  of  smoking  heiss  wasser  to  shave  with.  Nauheim  is  about 
as  far  from  Frankfort  as  Irvington  is  from  New  York  by  rail. 
We  run  in  town  to  do  shopping  every  week. 

My  mornings  here  are  intensely  exciting  and  interesting  — 
Breakfast  —  rest  —  bath  —  rest  —  gymnastics  —  rest  —  lunch- 
eon —  rest.     What   is  left  of  the  day   after  luncheon  we  spend 


294  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

at  the  Kurhaus  listening  to  the  music,  and  seeing  all  the  other  old 
duffers  who  are  here  with  heart  troubles. 

In  the  evening  we  have  occasionally  a  prestidigitateur.  Last 
time,  before  performing  a  trick  he  called  out  to  the  audience  in 
German:  "Some  one  please  give  me  a  night  key."  There  was 
a  roar  of  laughter!  Night  keys?  Everybody  in  Nauheim  is  in 
bed  at   10  o'clock,   by  the  doctor's  orders. 

The  baths  are  very  strong.  I  have  taken  12  and  have  only 
yet  had  diluted  sprudel.  The  strong  sprudel  is  like  soda  water 
and  effervesces  most  effervescingly,  covering  the  whole  body 
with  its  bubbles.  This  equalises  the  circulation  in  such  a  re- 
markable way  that  a  dilated  heart,  after  each  bath,  shrinks, 
sometimes  half  an  inch  all  around.  After  a  succession  of  such 
baths  the  heart  goes  back  to  its  normal  size;  and  then  the 
doctor  sends  his  patient  off  to  Switzerland  for  the  quiet  "after- 
cure"  for  a  month  before  returning  to  work. 

...  I  have  thought  a  great  deal  about  ear  trumpets,  for  we 
have  met  hosts  of  deaf  people.  All  so  bright  and  cheerful  but 
they  can't  hear  unless  one  comes  close  to  them.  It  would  be  a 
perfect  Godsend  to  thousands  if  some  sort  of  contrivance  could 
be  devised  whereby  they  might  have  ear  trumpets  at  their  ears, 
so  as  to  hear  ordinary  conversation  at  dinner  time;  hear  in 
church,  &c.  &c.  people  wear  spectacles,  why  shouldn't  they 
wear  ear  trumpets?  people  wear  earrings,  people  have  false 
teeth,  some  people  have  wigs.  /  go  in  for  ear  trumpets  to  fit 
the  head.  There  might  be  a  gold  band  over  the  head  to  hold 
them  no  bigger  than  a  gold  spectacle  rim,  or  a  lorgnette.  The 
ear  trumpet  should  not  be  black  but  transparent  like  eye  glasses; 
or  white.  It  should  be  made  very  light  in  weight  either  of  thin 
glace,  or  papier  mache  or  isinglass,  or  of  that  light  new  metal, 
what's  its  name?  Aluminium  or  aluminum.  Ladies  could  com- 
bine it  with  a  Paris  bonnet,  or  tulle  cap,  or  hide  it  in  tasteful 
bonnet  strings.  It  might  be  hard  to  wear  at  first,  but  think  of 
the  first  man  who  wore  spectacles  or  automobilistical  goggles! 
Then,  after  some  brave  spirits  should  lead  the  way,  the  ear 
trumpets  could  become  fashionable  —  then,  they  would  become 
as  common  as  eye  glasses.  Here  is  a  chance  for  an  inventor  to 
make  a  fortune.  If  I  were  you,  I  should  go  to  my  old  friend 
and  classmate  Charley  Bull  (Dr.  Charles  Steadman  Bull)  he  is 
one  of  the  first  aurists  in  New  York.  I'll  give  you  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  him  if  you  like.     He  was  one  of  the  devout  com- 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  295 

municants  of  Calvary  Church.  And  see  if  you  cannot  concodr. 
something  together.  You'd  both  make  a  pile  of  money  out  of 
it.  He  would  supply  the  medical  and  anatomical  knowledge, 
you  would  supply  the  inventive  genius.  He  could  not  say  that 
you  were  trespassing  upon  his  field  or  that  you  were  an  igno- 
ramus, because  you  would  speak  as  an  expert  in  your  field,  as 
a  mechanical  inventor.  And  you  would  have  Leontine  by  you 
to  tell  you  whether  your  invention  is  tasteful  and  could  be 
combined  with  ladies  hats.  But  I  should  not  go  to  Dr.  Bull 
until  I  had  spent  a  great  deal  of  thought  and  time  experiment- 
ing how  the  thing  can  best  be  done:  how  it  could  be  made  as 
small  as  possible,  so  as  to  attract  little  notice;  how  it  could 
best  be  fitted  to  the  ear  or  to  the  head;  and  what  is  the 
lightest  material  of  which  it   could  be  made. 

Be  assured  there  is  a  great  want  to  be  filled,  a  great,  a  very 
great  demand!  Just  think  how  it  would  gladden  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  lives  of  those  whose  hearing  will  never  be  any 
better.  If  they  could  carry  an  ear  trumpet  on  their  ears  as 
men  carry  eye  glasses  on  their  noses.  Sooner  or  later  the  thing 
will  be  invented  by  some  one.  If  you  should  be  that  inventor 
you  would  become  celebrated  for  all  time.  I  have  seen  people 
at  Antwerp  and  other  places  carrying  around  a  huge  black 
egg  like  this  \jketck]  about  5x3  inches,  which  they  hold  up  to 
their  ears  until  their  hands  drop  with  fatigue,  my  heart  goes  out 
to  them  and  I  feel  as  though  I  must  invent  something  to  take 
its  place,  but  I  am  no  good  at  that  sort  of  thing  while  you  are. 

I  cannot  tell  you  how  deeply  we  appreciated  seeing  Leontine 
and  Katherine  at  the  ship,  I  only  wish  we  had  seen  more  of 
them,  but  there  is  always  such  a  gang  on  the  gangway  before 
the  ship  starts. 

An  hour  after,  the  same  spot  was  deserted,  all  went  to  their 
rooms  to  get  ready  for  sea  sickness  or  to  write  letters.  The 
letters  went,  but  the  sea  sickness  didn't  come  off  at  all.  I  sup- 
pose that  some  who  were  taking  their  first  voyage  must  have 
been  quite  disappointed.  There  were  no  angry  waves.  Atlan- 
tic was  a  millpond. 

TO   DR.    DE    VRIES 

June  4,  1905.  —  I  received  your  interesting  letter  which  was 
followed  soon  by  the  one  you  wrote  to  Mrs.  Satterlee,  telling  us 
about  the  memorable  service  you  attended  at  Southwark  Ca- 
thedral, your  meeting  with  Mrs.  Davidson  and  your  luncheon  at 


296  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

Lambeth.  It  was  intensely  interesting,  in  fa6t  the  most  enjoy- 
able letter  we  have  received  since  we  came  abroad.  I  know  the 
scenes  and  the  people  you  met  so  well  that  I  could  vividly 
imagine  all  you  passed  through,  as  you  recounted  the  events  of 
the  day.  I  art]  so  glad  —  so  very  glad  that  you  have  thus 
begun  to  see  something  of  English  Church  life  —  nay  the  very 
best  of  it!  You  are  now  fairly  launched,  and  I  am  sure  that 
even  if  other  days  are  not  so  memorable  —  you  are  now  on  the 
way  of  enjoying  every  day  of  your  stay  in  England.  You  made 
no  mistake  in  coming  so  early.  If  you  had  delayed  your 
departure  until  July  or  August  you  would  have  everything 
different. 

The  Doctor  (Prof.  Dr.  Schott)  here  says  that  I  am  improv- 
ing, and  that  in  time  I  shall  be  perfectly  well,  with  ability  and 
strength  to  work  as  hard  as  ever,  if  I  rest  a  bit  between  times. 
He  comes  to  see  me  every  day,  and  his  visits  are  so  quick  that 
they  are  called  "snap  shots." 

Phil  and  his  bride  arrived  last  night,  and  of  course  are  happy, 
even  if  they  are  passing  their  honeymoon  at  Nauheim.  Dr. 
Schott  says  that  Phil  is  much  better  than  he  was  this  time  last 
year.  We  see  a  great  deal  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hays  Hammond 
(of  "Jameson  Raid"  fame).  The  McGowans  are  just  opposite 
us  at  the  Villa  Wagner  and  we  take  tea  together  every  night. 

TO   MRS.   A.    D.    RUSSELL 

June  4,  1905.  —  Here  we  are  still  at  Nauheim  where  we  have 
been  for  three  weeks.  I  am  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Schott  who 
comes  to  see  me  every  day.  And  as  every  day  he  changes  my 
bath,  always  making  it  stronger,  I  suppose  I  must  be  improving. 
He  tells  me  that  the  typhoid  fever  has  left  me  with  a  weakened 
muscular  system,  and  that  I  have  a  "hard  worker's  heart" 
(whatever  that  means)  but  that  if  I  am  careful  in  reason,  that 
I  shall  recover  perfectly  and  be  sound.  I  have,  however,  to 
return  later  in  the  summer  for  another  month  of  Nauheim  treat- 
ment, so  I  am  glad  that  I  arranged  with  the  Diocese  for  a  longer 
vacation  than  usual.  I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  that  Dr. 
Schott  is  a  remarkable  man.  People  either  swear  by  him  or 
at  him.  They  say  he  is  "progressive,"  but  I  find  him  more 
cautious  and  conservative  than  any  other  physician  here.  For 
although    my  ailment  is  slight,   and  only  functional,  compared 


i9os]  AD  INTERIM  297 

with  that  of  others  with  whom  I  talk,  he  is  much  more  strict 
and  particular  with  me  regarding  diet,  times  of  rest  &c.  Per- 
haps, that  is  the  reason  some  call  him  "snapshot"  —  because 
he  is  so  strict,  abrupt  and  decided.  Last  year  he  had  one  hun- 
dred -physicians  of  different  nationalities  under  his  care.  This 
fact  speaks  for  itself.  Nauheim  on  the  whole  is  an  attractive 
place.  It  is  scarcely  more  than  a  village,  built  around  a  very 
beautiful  park,  enclosing  a  lovely  lake  a  mile  long,  upon  which 
boats  and  swans  glide  to  and  fro.  The  bath  houses  are  all  at 
one  end  of  the  park,  and  the  Kurhaus,  or  "Casino,"  at  the 
other.  The  mornings  are  spent  in  bathing,  "gymnastik,"  and 
resting.  In  the  afternoon  one  generally  goes  to  the  Kurhaus 
to  hear  the  band  and  meet  one's  friends  or  else  to  drive.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wm.  Allen  Butler  are  opposite  us  at  the  Kaiser  Hof, 
also  many  other  Americans  —  the  Hays  Hammonds,  the  Grants, 
&c;  Secretary  Hay  has  left.  I  saw  him  almost  every  day,  and 
he  was  greatly  improved  in  health.  I  understand  your  brother 
Percy  with  his  family  are  coming  here.  Perhaps  we  shall  see 
them  when  we  return  in  July. 

We  leave  about  June  12th  for  London,  where  I  have  a  great 
deal  to  do.  Mrs.  Davidson  has  asked  us  to  stay  for  a  few  days 
at  Lambeth,  and  the  Archbishop,  as  I  told  you,  has  promised  to 
give  enough  stones  from  Canterbury  Cathedral  to  shape  into  a 
historic  Lectern  in  memory  of  Stephen  Langton  the  author  or 
leader  in  the  "Magna  Charta,"  at  Runnymede.  This  will  un- 
doubtedly prove  of  great  interest,  for  the  Bible  is  the  Charter 
of  all  real  liberty,  and  as  all  the  "lessons"  in  the  Cathedral 
services  will  be  read  from  this  lectern,  or  ambon,  the  associations 
will  be  very  attractive.  If  possible,  I  hope  that  there  will  be 
statuettes  and  bas  reliefs,  around  the  front  of  the  lectern  illus- 
trating the  history  of  the  English  Bible,  —  Bede,  —  Wyclif,  — 
Tyndale,  —  Coverdale,  —  Cranmer,  &c. 

I  shall  have  a  great  deal  to  do  in  England.  You  know  that  the 
Cathedral  debt  (counting  in  the  legacy  left  by  dear  Miss  Martin) 
is  now  reduced  to  #57,000,  so  that  we  must  begin  to  prepare  for 
work:  —  for  the  revision  of  the  Constitution  and  the  formation 
of  the  Chapter:  for  the  preparation  of  plans  for  laying  out  the 
Cathedral  grounds,  and  designs  for  the  Gothic  Cathedral  itself. 
We  can  afford  to  make  no  mistake,  for  this  will  be  the  great 
Cathedral  in  the  Capital  of  the  whole  country.  And  conse- 
quently   I    desire   to   gather   all   the   information    I    can,   bearing 


298  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

upon  these  points,  while  I  am  in  England.  And  the  Doctor  says 
I  can  work  there,  if  I  do  not  work  too  hard.  This  is  a  very- 
egotistical  letter,  but  you  have  been  so  kind  and  thoughtful 
about  this  visit,  that  I  am  writing  to  you  just  as  I  should  do 
to  a  member  of  my  own  family. 

We  are  all  well  and  we  all  send  our  dear  love  to  you,  to  Mr. 
Russell,  to  Ethel  and  the  children.  I  shall  write  again  soon. 
But  you  must  not  take  the  trouble  to  answer  at  this  very 
busy  time  of  the  year,  when  you  are  making  all  your  summer 
arrangements. 

FROM  MRS.  SATTERLEE  TO  MR.  ARTHUR  SATTERLEE 

London,  June  22,  1905.  —  Thank  you  very  much  for  your 
delightful  birthday  letter  which  I  enjoyed  very  much,  as  I  did 
each  one  of  the  lovely  bunch  of  the  letters  coming  from  the 
house  party  at  Irvington.  It  was  so  good  of  you  all  to  think 
of  me,  and  I  greatly  appreciated  your  kind  thought,  which  wel- 
comed us  to  London. 

Now  we  are  among  the  crowded  streets,  the  great  bustle,  the 
hansoms,  the  London  bridges,  the  occasional  green  parks  and 
gardens,  the  quaint  old  churches  of  busy  old  time  London.  I 
drove  from  St.  Paul's  home  this  morning,  almost  all  along  the 
many-bridged  river,  and  thought  of  Dickens  scenes,  so  graph- 
ically described,  of  old  times,  of  many  memories.  It  is  a 
beautiful  day.  I  have  been  to  the  great  G.  F.  S.  Meeting  at 
St.  Paul's  with  Constance,  and  have  left  her  to  lunch  with  Lady 
Knightley,  a  great  patron  of  the  Girls'  Friendly  Society;  and 
Henry  has  gone  to  Lambeth,  to  lunch  with  the  Archbishops  and 
many  Bishops,  so  they  can  neither  of  them  send,  as  I  can,  in 
this  letter,  their  love  to  you  and  their  thanks  for  your  welcome 
letter.  I  hope  you  are  feeling  well  and  strong  this  summer.  No 
rheumatism!  or  else  you  will  have  to  come  to  Nauheim,  a  pleas- 
ant if  a  somewhat  monotonous  remedy.  Henry  took  25  baths 
there.  Then  he  had  to  come  here  for  some  Church  business, 
instead  of  an  after-cure,  so  we  expecl:  to  have  to  go  back  to 
Nauheim  for  a  fortnight,  and  then  to  some  mountain  place  for 
a  delayed  after-cure.  These  baths  are  very  strong,  and  depress 
and  pull  you  down  for  some  time.  Then  you  ought  to  go  to  an 
after-cure,  and  later  on  the  good  they  do  you  appears.  We  had 
interesting  people  at  Nauheim,  Mr.  Hay,  our  Secretary  of  State, 
Mr.   Mason,   Consul  at   Paris,  the  Hays    Hammonds,  of  South 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  299 

African  fame,  Mrs.  Chadwick,  the  Admiral's  wife,  Mrs.  Admiral 
McGowan,  Lord  Mount  Edgcumbe,  Lord  Lansdowne's  brother- 
in-law  and  others.  We  left  on  a  Monday,  spent  that  night  at 
Brussels  seeing  the  sights  next  day,  and  the  next  night  at  Bruges, 
where  we  wanted  to  stay  at  least  a  week,  listening  to  the  marvel- 
lous chimes,  and  seeing  the  quaint  and  picturesque  sights.  We 
had  a  smooth,  delightful  crossing  from  Ostend  to  Dover,  were 
met  at  the  train  by  Dr.  De  Vries,  one  of  Henry's  clergy,  and  are 
settled  comfortably  in  this  apartment  in  a  hotel  frequented  by 
English  people.  We  have  seen  some  of  our  old  friends,  and 
Henry  has  gained  some  of  the  information  he  wanted,  and 
Constance  is  deep  in  the  Girls'  Friendly  Society  Meetings. 

What  are  you  reading  now-a-days?  Henry  and  I  have  just 
finished  reading  aloud  such  an  exciting,  well-written  novel,  "Hurri- 
cane Island."  After  arriving  here,  Henry  was  housed  with  a 
cold  a  couple  of  days,  and  we  did  a  good  deal  of  reading. 

I  was  so  glad  Katherine  came  down  on  the  ship  to  bid  us 
good-bye.  It  was  her  first  visit  on  a  steamer,  she  said.  I  wish 
you  were  all  over  here  with  us.  With  dear  love  to  Leontine  and 
Katherine  and  yourself  from  us  all. 

TO   MRS.    A.    D.    RUSSELL 

July  29,  1905.  —  Here  we  are  back  in  Nauheim  once  more, 
after  five  or  six  weeks  absence  in  England.  Dr.  Schott  is  most 
encouraging.  He  tells  me  that  if  I  am  "reasonable"  I  shall 
recover  completely  from  the  slight  dilatation  produced  by  the 
typhoid  fever.  When  we  returned  here  your  brother  Percy  and 
his  family  were  about  leaving,  but  we  just  saw  them.  Grafton 
seemed  to  be  much  better  and  I  think  has  had  the  full  benefit 
of  the  treatment.  Of  course,  the  one  thought  uppermost  in  all 
of  our  minds  when  we  met  was  the  sudden  death  of  dear  Mrs. 
Grinnell.  We  have  not  yet  recovered  from  the  shock  of  Mr. 
Grinnell's  cablegram.  How  strange  it  was  that  both  she  and 
Col.  Hay  died  from  a  clot  on  the  lungs  on  the  same  day,  July  1. 
The  Grinnells  were  associated  with  those  seventeen  happy  years 
that  I  spent  in  my  first  parish.  We  should  have  left  there  lon<j 
before,  had  it  not  been  for  the  way  in  which  we  all  workul 
together  through  all  those  years  without  one  hour's  break  of 
harmony,  for  the  parish  and  village  (or  rather  villages).  I  can- 
not realize  that  she  is  no  longer  on  this  earth  and  we  don't 
want  to  realize  it.      The  bond  of  union  between  us  and  those  in 


3oo  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

Paradise  is  so  great,  that  if  this  is  realized  the  separation  is,  in 
comparison  with  the  living  union,  a  shadowy  thing.  At  those 
times  when  it  does  not  seem  so,  I  know  that  the  lesser  has,  for 
the  time  being,  obscured  the  overwhelmingly  greater  truth  and 
fact.  I  am  sure  that  Mr.  Grinnell  feels  the  same.  His  letters 
are  wonderful:  so  bright,  so  hopeful,  so  thankful  that  he  had  his 
dear  wife  for  forty-two  years.  The  loss  to  him  would  be  appall- 
ing were  it  not  for  his  clearness  of  spiritual  vision. 

We  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  month  of  June  in  England, 
and  I  was  able  to  accomplish  far  more  than  I  had  anticipated. 
We  all  stayed  nearly  a  week  at  Lambeth,  with  the  Archbishop 
and  Mrs.  Davidson,  and  though  I  had  been  there  before,  it  was 
never  under  such  delightful  circumstances.  While  there,  we  met, 
at  one  time  or  another  most  of  the  English  Bishops.  I  had  the 
privilege  of  renewing  many  of  the  old  friendships  of  the  Lambeth 
Conference,  and  also  of  meeting  the  new  Bishops  who  have  been 
consecrated  in  the  past  five  years.  Ingram,  the  present  Bishop 
of  London  I  have  known  ever  since  he  was  the  head  of  Oxford 
House  twenty-five  years  ago.  He  is  just  the  same  direct,  simple- 
hearted,  sympathetic  man  he  was  then  —  a  rare  combination  of 
spirituality  and  shrewdness.  He  has  already  made  a  great 
mark  for  himself  in  London,  and  they  say  that  when  he  preaches, 
the  crowds  are  so  great  that  a  rector,  on  account  of  his  own 
congregation,  cannot  advertise  the  Bishop's  coming  before- 
hand. 

The  Archbishop  took  me  into  both  Houses  of  Convocation, 
and  the  greeting  in  each  house  was  so  cordial  that  I  had  to 
respond  in  a  short  speech.  These  meetings  were  most  interesting. 
In  the  meantime  Constance  was  attending  the  Girls'  Friendly 
Society's  great  meetings,  as  a  delegate  from  the  central  council 
in  America,  and  she  passed  through  a  similar  experience.  Evi- 
dently the  English  Church  has  been  much  gratified  at  the  way 
in  which  its  Primate  was  received  in  America  last  autumn. 

The  Archbishops  put  me  in  the  way  of  leaving  the  reports  of 
the  Parliamentary  commission  upon  Cathedrals,  so  that  I  have 
now  in  possession  the  details  of  the  organization,  statistics  and 
workings  of  all  the  English  Cathedrals,  and  am  having  them 
bound  in  a  volume  or  volumes,  for  the  Washington  Cathedral 
Library.  They  will  be  of  invaluable  use  to  us,  showing  what  we 
are  to  adopt,  and  what  we  are  to  avoid,  in  the  experience  of 
Cathedral  organizations  a  thousand  years  old. 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  301 

The  Archbishop  has  also  renewed  his  kind  offer  to  give  us  a 
sufficient  number  of  stones  from  Canterbury  Cathedral  for  a 
lectern  or  ''Canterbury  Ambon. "  These  are  given  by  him  in 
memory  of  his  predecessor,  Stephen  Langton  who  led  the  barons 
in  bringing  the  Magna  Charta  [to]  John. 

After  making  enquiries  I  found  that  Mr.  W.  D.  Caroe,  who  is 
the  very  distinguished  architect  in  charge  of  Canterbury  Cathe- 
dral, would  be,  by  far,  the  best  one  to  put  in  charge  of  the  works 
and  when  I  explained  to  him  that  the  leclern  was  to  be  like  the 
Bible  Desk,  or  "ambons,"  of  the  primitive  church;  that  it  was  to 
illustrate  the  history  of  the  English  translation  of  the  Bible  from 
735  to  1885  a.d.  in  its  bas  reliefs  of  Cuthbert,  Runnymede  and 
Tyndale's  Martyrdom,  and  its  statuettes  of  Wyclif,  Alfred  the 
Great,  Bishops  Andrewes  of  King  James  Version,  and  Westcott 
of  the  Revised  Version;  and  lastly,  when  I  told  Mr.  Caroe  that 
this  ambon  was  to  be  made  of  stones  given  to  the  Washington 
Cathedral  by  the  English  Primate,  in  memory  of  Archbishop 
Stephen  Langton,  he  took  the  deepest,  most  lively  and  enthu- 
siastic interest  in  the  work  and  offered  to  design  and  have  it 
executed  for  us  in  England. 

I  cannot  but  feel  most  thankful  that  we  are  to  have  this 
ambon.  Think  of  it!  We  shall  have  in  the  Washington  Cathe- 
dral now,  a  memorial  of  the  Author  of  the  Magna  Charta,  given 
by  his  successor  in  office.  How  that  will  appeal  to  the  historic 
instincl:  of  Americans.  I  tell  this  to  you  but  shall  not  speak 
of  it  except  privately  until  the  ambon  is  safely  across  the  ocean 
and  at  Washington  itself.  It  is  dangerous  to  count  chickens 
before  they  are  hatched. 

I  was  present  in  my  robes  at  S.  Paul's  Cathedral  at  the  me- 
morial service  to  Secretary  Hay.  It  was  most  impressive.  The 
Lord  Mayor  with  his  retinue  sat  opposite  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  surrounded  by  officials  in  wigs  and  army  officers 
in  full  uniform.  The  music  with  a  double  choir,  I  shall  never 
forget,  and  the  nave  of  the  great  Cathedral  was  full  to  the  doors. 
Of  course  the  service  was  doubly  impressive  to  us  because  it 
was  held  praclically  not  only  at  the  hour  of  Colonel  Hay's 
funeral  at  Cleveland,  but  of  Mrs.  Grinnell  at  New  Hamburgh. 
We  came  home  and  then  had  the  funeral  service  over  again  in 
our  own  rooms,  at  the  very  hour.  I  was  engaged  to  speak  as 
tin-  representative  of  America  ;it  the  Lord  Mayor's  dinner  to 

the   Bi8hop8  that  night   but  of  course,    I    did   not  go.      I  could  not 


3o2  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

have  gone  if  I  had  tried!  If  it  had  been  a  church  service,  I 
should  have  felt  it  cowardly  to  stay  away  from  private  grief  but 
these  post  prandium  addresses  occupy  a  strange  place  between 
real  religious  duties  of  a  Bishop  on  the  one  hand,  and  mere 
social  engagements  on  the  other. 

I  suppose  while  I  am  writing  this  that  you  are  at  Bar  Harbour, 
or  rather  North  East  Harbour.  I  hope  you  will  have  a  pleasant 
restful  summer,  and  one  full  of  enjoyment  for  the  young  people. 

TO   DR.   DE   VRIES   FROM   BAD   NAUHEIM 

August  7  (?),  1905.  —  In  Venice  I  always  go  as  often  as  I  can 
to  the  interior  of  St.  Mark's,  if  it  is  only  to  sit  there  for  a  few 
minutes.  If  ever  there  were  a  Crusaders'  church  it  is  this.  Go 
in,  sit  on  the  right  hand  seat  of  the  nave  on  the  pillar  nearest 
to  the  altar  opposite  Galileo's  lamp,  and  remember  I  have  sat 
there  for  hours  looking  up  to  the  chocolate  and  molten  gold,  the 
cavernlike  transept  on  the  left.  Then  when  you  come  out  and 
look  about,  you  see  the  most  beautiful  piazza  in  the  world. 
"O  Venezia  benedetta  nole  voglio  piu  lazar!"  On  the  little 
island,  I  think  it  is  Burano,  there  is  an  interesting  Monastery 
with  the  motto  over  the  archway  to  the  garden  "O  beata  soli- 
tudine,  O  sola  beatudine."  That  is  about  as  far  from  20th  cen- 
tury life  as  one  can  get.  But  memories  run  away  with  me. 
Neither  Murano  nor  Burano  will  repay  a  visit  when  there  is  so 
much  more  worth  the  seeing. 

If  you  go  to  Florence,  try  to  read  in  the  train  Mrs.  Oliphant's 
Makers  of  Florence  beforehand.  Even  if  you  have  to  buy  the 
book  like  Hare's  Walks  in  Venice,  it  will  double  your  enjoy- 
ment. I  should  advise  you  not  to  go  to  the  Certosa  (unless  you 
particularly  want  to  see  a  Monastery)  or  to  Fiesole  (unless  you 
want  an  excursion).  They  scarcely  pay  for  the  time.  But  the 
view  from  San  Miniato  of  Florence,  though  of  course  not  as  fine  as 
that  from  Fiesole,  is  very  beautiful.  I  want  you  to  see  (for  me) 
if  it  is  not  like  the  view  of  Washington  from  the  Peace  Cross. 

Pay  two  visits  to  the  Uffizi  to  one  at  the  Pitti  Palace.  I 
suggest  to  you  to  observe  closely  the  busts  of  the  Roman  em- 
perors, for  they  were  "the  photos"  of  the  period,  often  redupli- 
cated. I  know  all  their  faces  from  Julius  Caesar  down  to  the 
Antonines,  and  I  want  to  get  plaster  casts  by  and  by  of  these 
busts,  for  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  Cathedral  Schools  to  study  — 
and  become  familiar  with. 


1905]  AD   INTERIM  303 

There  is  a  splendid  circulating  library  in  the  Via  Tornabuoni 
if  you  want  to  look  at  any  book. 

Should  you  have  a  spare  day,  you  could  easily  run  down  to 
Pisa  and  back:  and  see  the  nth  century  Cathedral  and  Baptis- 
tery and  Leaning  Tower  in  two  hours  time.  At  Milan  be  sure 
to  visit  the  most  interesting  church,  where  Ambrose  repelled 
Theodosius.  You'll  be  disappointed  in  the  magnificent  Cathe- 
dral. Italy  is  too  classic  in  feeling  for  Gothic  to  succeed.  And 
then  —  the  Classic  Facade!  I  can  see  Napoleon,  the  self-made 
man,  sitting  on  horse  back  and  saying  to  his  architect  "Put  me 
up  a  front  to  this  Church."  Don't  go  to  Pavia,  if  you  want  to 
save  time  for  something  else.  Like  the  Medici  Chapel  in  Flor- 
ence, the  Certosa  is  wonderfully  ornate  with  carvings  and  inlaid 
marbles,  but  more  rich  than  beautiful. 

TO   MRS.    RIVES    FROM    BRUNNEN 

August  27,  1905.  —  We  have  just  come  back  from  church, 
where  the  service  was  most  helpful  especially  the  Psalms,  .  .  . 
Not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  is  the  field  where  out  on  a  hay 
stack,  while  I  was  reading  Westcott's  Epistles  of  St.  John  and 
Churchill  "Westward  Ho!"  with  the  fragrance  of  the  new-mown 
hay  filling  the  air,  and  the  lovely  Frohn  Alp  above  us,  Churchill 
decided  to  study  for  holy  orders.  I  am  sure  you  must  remember 
the  spot.  It  was  just  behind  the  little  church  where  we  have  all 
worshipped  together.  Don't  you  recollect  that  rainy  Sunday, 
when  we  all  came  from  Venice  together  and  stopped  at  Axenstein  ? 

We  have  taken  twice  the  drive  along  the  Axenstrasse.  Once 
with  De  Vries,  and  once  with  the  McGowans.  How  well  I  re- 
member the  day,  when  with  you  and  the  Churchill  girls  we  drove 
on  the  same  road.  Yes,  I  know  (I  think)  the  very  point  where 
we  looked  down  over  the  emerald  green  of  the  grass  and  through 
the  trees  into  the  chrysoprase  green  of  the  Lake  far  below, 
flecked  with  purple  shades.  I  have  seen  that  purple  on  a  clouded 
day. 

I  remember  too  looking  up  to  the  Urirothstock,  with  its  huge 
glacier,  and  thinking  that  as  the  highest  mountains  have  the 
most  sunshine  and  the  widest  horizons,  so  are  they  more  often 
encompassed  by  clouds  than  the  lower  peaks;  and  that  so  it  is  in 
life. 

We  like  the  hotel  so  much  that  we  are  hanging  on,  but  I 
suppose  we  shall  soon  be  moving  southward,  for  September  be- 


304 


A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 


gins  this  week.  We  shall  sail  in  the  "Cretic"  (D.V.)  which 
leaves  Genoa  Ocl:.  13  and  Palermo  on  Oct.  17.  It  is  a  very  long 
vacation,  but  as  I  expect  to  do  some  aggressive  work  after  it  is 
over,  it  seemed  best  to  take  this  prolonged  rest.  If  I  had  reached 
Washington  earlier  I  should  certainly  have  had  to  start  out  at 
once  on  a  visit  to  the  parishes  in  Southern  Maryland.  As  I 
wrote  to  Dr.  De  Vries  they  have  all  been  filled  by  young  men 
who  are  so  full  of  energy  and  promise  that  I  scarcely  dare  to 
hope  that  they  will  stay.  In  all  my  prayers  and  hopes  for 
Southern  Maryland,  I  never  dreamed  that  we  should  have  those 
parishes  manned  as  they  are  to-day.  The  impression  already 
created  there  has  reflected  itself  upon  the  clerical  life  of  Washing- 
ton. The  Washington  clergy  themselves  are  astonished  at  what 
has  been  done.  Instead  of  pitying  Southern  Maryland  they 
are  beginning  to  respect  it. 

Bishop  Mackay-Smith  came  from  Lucerne  to  see  us  last 
Friday,  and  the  next  day  (yesterday)  we  all  went  down  to  take 
luncheon  with  them  at  the  Schweizer  Hof. 

He  and  his  wife  are  most  enthusiastic  regarding  the  Cathedral. 
He  has  the  real  historic  instinct  and  says,  "There  is  enough  of 
interest  now  on  the  Cathedral  grounds  to  keep  an  intelligent 
visitor  there  for  half  a  day,  and  this  interest  is  bound  to  grow 
year  after  year." 

He  gave  the  most  helpful  suggestion  that  on  the  ambon  which 
illustrates  the  history  of  the  English  Bible,  we  should  place 
an  old  black  lettered  chained  Bible  —  and  offered  to  subscribe 
for  one,  if  we  could  find  it.  I  know  of  one  man  who  owned  a 
dozen  of  these  chained  Bibles,  with  the  old  rusty  chains  attached 
to  them.  He  is  dead,  and  perhaps  his  heirs  can  be  induced  to 
part  with  one  of  them.  I  am  writing  to  find  out.  Of  course  the 
lessons  would  have  to  be  read  from  another  Bible,  but  perhaps  the 
ambon  can  be  arranged  as  in  some  English  Cathedrals,  thus, 
\jketch~]  on  a  revolving  desk  with  a  Bible  on  each  side.  However, 
all  this  is  secondary  to  the  Ambon  itself,  and  this,  —  while  I 
shall  not  speak  of  it  even  to  the  Cathedral  Board  —  until  cer- 
tainty becomes  doubly  certain  —  I  regard  now  as  a  sure  thing. 
I  don't  know  why  I  take  such  interest  in  such  things.  A  Bishop's 
work  is  to  care  for  souls,  sometimes  I  am  ashamed  of  myself; 
yet  on  the  other  hand,  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  as  Catholic 
as  human  nature  and,  when  I  think  how  a  Cathedral,  while  its 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  305 

primary  ministrations  must  be  spiritual  of  course,  must  minister 
to  all  that  is  in  man,  the  shame  lessens.  Again  one  has  to  follow 
the  line  of  least  resistance  in  making  progress.  I  would  that  we 
could  make  the  Cathedral  a  great  Spiritual  power,  but  the  time 
for  that  has  not  yet  arrived,  because  "the  Parish'3  with  its 
parochial  ministrations  seems  to  occupy  the  whole  ground.  God 
has  not  as  yet  prospered  my  efforts  in  the  way  of  the  Communi- 
cants' Fellowship,  the  Canon  Missionership,  Diocesan  Retreats 
and  above  all  in  the  pro-Cathedral  as  a  spiritual  centre.  I  am 
sure  that  there  must  be  a  deep  reason  why  these  more  spiritual 
efforts  have  failed,  and  why  those  lesser  efforts  to  make  the 
Cathedral  Close  a  centre  of  historic  interest  and  education  have 
been  crowned  with  such  success.  Of  course  one  is  deeply  inter- 
ested in  that  which  prospers  most,  especially  when  the  progress 
in  this  line  is  undoubted  but  —  I  long  for  the  more  spiritual 
success.  I  must  work  by  faith  not  by  sight,  and  I  do  firmly 
believe  that  in  the  Cathedral  we  are  now  doing  a  work  of  prep- 
aration, and  laying  the  foundation  for  a  spiritual  power  which 
will  be  manifested  by  and  by.  Some  day  God  will  answer  our 
prayers,  and  the  pro-Cathedral,  the  Communicants'  Union  and 
Diocesan  Reading  Union,  the  Canon  Missionership  will  become  all 
and  more  than  we  have  striven  or  hoped  for  at  this  present  time. 

One  thing.  I  am  greatly  encouraged  by  the  results  of  our 
visit  to  England.  We  have  been  accumulating  much  valuable 
information  regarding  Cathedral  organization.  I  felt  that  I 
was  a  perfecT:  ignoramus  in  this  line  a  year  ago.  Now  it  seems 
to  me  as  though  we  know  more  about  the  inner  relations  of  the 
Cathedral  Chapter  and  the  Diocese  and  the  duties  of  the  re- 
spective officers  than  I  ever  hoped  to  know,  or  than  I  can  learn 
from  the  statutes  of  any  other  American  Cathedral.  At  all 
events  we  have  sufficient  data  to  formulate  the  outline  of  a  very 
effective  Cathedral  organization,  which  shall  afford  freedom  for 
the  Bishop  to  exercise  certain  apostolic  and  missionary  functions 
of  his  office,  which  have  heretofore  been  held  too  much  in  abey- 
ance under  our  American  system:  freedom  also  for  the  Cathedral 
Chapter  to  develop  supra-parochial  work:  and  yet  keep  the 
Cathedral  in  close  organic  connection  with  the  Diocesan  Synod. 

We  have  only  the  outline  to  frame.  It  would  be  unwise  to 
go  into  details.     These  can  be  filled  in,  pro  re  nata. 

Again  we  have  found  out  a  great  deal  regarding  the  manage- 
ment of  the  choir  schools  of  many  English   and   Scotch  Cathe- 


3o6  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

drals,  especially  St.  Paul's;  Westminster  Abbey;  Magdalen, 
Oxford;  King's  College,  Cambridge;  Truro;  Lichfield;  Peter- 
boro;  Winchester.  Oftentimes,  we  find  that  "do&ors  disagree," 
and  that  plans  which  some  are  most  enthusiastic  about,  others 
censure  severely.  All  this  is  very  helpful,  if  we  have  the  wisdom 
to  select  the  right  course. 

I  earnestly  hope  that  you  continue  to  gain  strength.  Every 
word  you  write  about  yourself  and  your  daily  life  is  of  greatest 
interest  to  us,  and  we  are  rejoiced  beyond  measure  that  both 
you  and  Dr.  Rives  —  and  we  may  add  his  mother,  have  found 
Bar  Harbour  such  a  success.  I  am  sorry  however  to  hear  you 
have  had  so  much  fog.  They  tell  me  that  the  drive  toward 
Frenchman's  Bay,  takes  you  out  of  it  always.  Certainly  we 
saw  last  summer  that  there  was  more  fog  at  North  East  than 
Bar  Harbour,  and  even  more  at  the  latter  than  at  Hull's  Cove. 
Here  we  have  had  a  spell  of  rainy  weather.  At  Lucerne  yester- 
day there  was  a  violent  hail  storm  at  3  p.m.  I  rejoiced  selfishly 
for  at  the  moment  I  was  in  Cook's  office  all  alone  without  the 
customary  crowd  ahead  of  me,  but  when  I  looked  out  into  the 
street,  the  pavement  was  actually  white  with  a  layer  of  hail,  while 
the  ground  beneath  the  horse  chestnut  trees  in  front  on  the 
Schweizer  Hof  was  carpetted  with  mortally  wounded  leaves. 

I  never  wrote  to  Dr.  Rives  to  tell  him  how  much  I  was  re- 
joiced to  hear  of  the  memorial  to  his  grandfather  which  he  had 
presented  to  the  University  of  Virginia.  I  know  just  how  warmly 
the  Virginians  will  appreciate  this  generous  act.  Some  day  I 
hope  to  read  the  Biography  of  his  grandfather  that  he  is  writ- 
ing.     I  know  it  will  be  an  intensely  interesting  book. 

TO   MRS.    JULIAN    JAMES    FROM    BRUNNEN 

Sept.  2,  1905.  —  Ever  since  I  left  home  I  have  carried  the 
thought  of  you  with  me  and  every  time  I  open  the  beautiful 
wallet  you  gave  me,  with  the  generous  enclosure  from  you  and 
your  Mother,  I  have  a  fresh  realization  of  your  friendship. 
There  is  nothing  else  in  life  so  precious  as  friendship  and  the 
older  one  grows  the  greater  its  value  becomes.  I  hope  that 
you  and  your  dear  Mother  have  had  a  pleasant,  restful  and  en- 
joyable summer.  I  only  wish  we  had  these  Alps  and  this  Lake 
of  Lucerne  as  near  to  Washington,  or  New  York,  as  the  Blue 
Ridge  or  the  Adirondacks,  so  that  your  Mother  might  come  as 
easily  here  as  to  Saratoga  Springs.    This  is  very  hallowed  ground 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  307 

to  me  for  we  were  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  here,  at  Axen- 
stein  in  1890,  and  it  was  there  that  my  son  Churchill  decided 
to  study  for  the  ministry.  I  enclose  a  photograph  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  hay  field  in  which  we  were.  With  the  scent  of  new 
mown  hay  filling  the  air  and  with  Kingsley's  "Westward  Ho!" 
in  his  hand,  Churchill  looking  up  to  these  snow-clad  summits 
began  to  talk  of  his  future  life.  And  then  we  had  the  conversa- 
tion which  Hamilton  Schuyler  has  recorded  in  his  little  volume 
entitled  "A  Fisher  of  Men." 

The  days  have  passed  swiftly  with  us  since  we  left  America. 
I  spent  two  months  in  Nauheim  taking  the  baths  and  the  Ger- 
man doctor  came  to  see  me  every  day.  It  was  all  so  new  and 
strange  —  this  life  of  routine  —  that  I  felt  disposed  to  rebel  at 
first  at  spending  my  days  thus:  Breakfast  —  rest  —  bath  — 
rest  —  gymnastik  —  rest  —  luncheon  —  rest  —  &c.  But  the 
doctor  promised  restoration  to  health  and  strength,  so  I  submit- 
ted. I  saw  Secretary  Hay  almost  daily  at  Nauheim  as  our 
Hotels  were  just  opposite  one  another.  I  had  arrived  in  England 
when  the  news  of  his  death  came.  Dear  Mrs.  Irving  Grinnell 
died  the  same  day  and  from  the  same  cause,  a  clot  on  the  lungs. 

I  had  an  engagement  to  speak  at  the  Lord  Mayor's  dinner  to 
the  Bishops  that  night,  but,  of  course,  gave  it  up.  Bishop 
Mackay-Smith  and  I  were  together  in  our  robes  at  the  great 
memorial  service  to  Colonel  Hay  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  as 
representing  America,  and  the  choir  and  nave  of  the  great  Cathe- 
dral were  filled  to  the  doors.  It  was  a  most  memorable  token  of 
the  unity  of  feeling  now  existing  between  England  and  America. 

Mrs.  Satterlee,  Constance  and  I  stayed  nearly  a  week  at 
Lambeth  Palace  with  the  Archbishop  and  Mrs.  Davidson,  and 
at  one  time  or  another,  I  met  almost  all  the  Bishops  of  the 
Southern  Province  while  there  and  at  various  meetings.  One  of 
these  was  the  great  missionary  meeting  at  the  Church  House, 
Westminster,  when  I  "received'3  beside  the  Archbishop,  and 
who  do  you  think  came  up  and  was  presented  to  us,  pre- 
sented at  this  Missionary  meeting?  None  other  than  the  daugh- 
ter of  Marshall  Oyama,  the  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Japanese 
forces  in  Manchuria.  There  is  great  rejoicing  here  over  the 
Peace  news,  and  everywhere  Roosevelt's  name  is  hailed  with 
delight.  It  is  said  that  the  French  in  their  enthusiasm  have 
even  proposed  to  change  the  name  of  the  "Rue  de  la  Paix"  to 
the  "Rue  de  Roosevelt."     But,  of  course,  this  is  only  the  "on 


3o8  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1905 

dit."  The  McGowans  are  with  us  at  this  same  Hotel.  They 
leave  Tuesday.  It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  be  with  them. 
We  all  join  in  love  to  you  and  your  Mother.  In  a  few  weeks 
now,  we  shall  all  be  together.    Auf  Wiedersehen. 

TO  MRS.  RIVES   FROM    BRUNNEN 

Sept.  g,  1905.  —  Here   we   are  still  living  at   Brunnen.     We 
shall  leave  day  after  to-morrow  for  Menaggio,  Lake  Como,  and 
Mrs.  Satterlee  and  Constance  are  now  saying  "Must  we  go,  just 
let  us  stay  one  week  more,"  though  on  Monday  we  shall  have 
been  here  a  whole  month!     We  have  had  rainy  days  but  these 
only  served  as  a  foil  and  made  the  brighter  days  all  the  brighter 
and  the  skies  all  the  more  azure  by  the  contrast.     This  after- 
noon Constance  took  a  drive  with  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Newbold 
along  a  beautiful  gorge,  made  historic  by  a  battle  between  the 
French  and  Russians  on  a  bridge;   coming  back  by  way  of  Axen- 
stein.     Mrs.  Satterlee  and  I  took  the  boat  to  Fluelen  and  back. 
It  was  an  entrancing  afternoon.     The  Lake  was  beautiful,  and 
the  precipices  were  as  steep  and  jagged  as  at  the  Koenig  See. 
But   the   Koenig   See   has   no   such   alps,   enamelled   with   those 
wonderful  green  pastures.     The  grass  seemed  luminous,  and  you 
can  imagine  what  it  was,  with  the  dark  blue  sky  above  and  the 
verdant    waters    below    the,  .  .  .  The    jagged    rocks    stood    out 
like  castles,  with  weather  beaten  pinnacles  and  buttresses;    and 
high  up,  on  the  side  of  the  lake  the  Axenstrasse  went  in  and 
out;    now   passing   through   tunnels,   now   over   huge   arches   of 
masonry,  until  we  came  to  the  famous  "Gallery"  through  which 
we  all  drove  years  ago.     Don't  you  remember  it,  with  its  rocky 
pillars  and  window-like  apertures?     How  we  thought  of  you  and 
Dr.   Rives   all  through  this   beautiful  sail  on  the   Lake  of  Uri. 
When  we  reached  Brunnen  we  went  into  a  shop  to  find  some 
stone-jade  or  Chrysoprase  —  which  would  reflecl:  the  hue  of  the 
lake  this  afternoon  to  send  you,  as  a  memento  of  our  thought 
of  you  and  desire  to  have  you  with  us.    That  which  came  near- 
est as  we  held  it  up  to  the  light  and  beside  the  sparkling  waters, 
was  a  piece  of  green  agate,  with  wave-like  lines. 

We  have  been  up  several  times  to  the  hay  field  at  Axenstein, 
on  the  "Alp"  behind  the  hotel,  where  I  had  the  talk  with 
Churchill,  which  brought  out  and  fixed  his  desire  to  study  for 
the  ministry.  It  is  so  beautiful  that  photographs  may  be  had, 
not  of  the  field  itself  but  of  the  view  from  the  field.     What  a 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  309 

place  in  which  to  receive  the  call  from  God!  We  read  there  the 
Psalm:  "I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  to  the  hills  from  whence  cometh 
my  help.  My  help  cometh  from  the  Lord  who  made  heaven  and 
earth,"  —  and  had  a  short  service.  I  am  going  to  have  the  scene 
framed  and  hung  on  the  walls  of  my  little  study,  where  it 
will  hang  for  the  remainder  of  my  life.  Perhaps,  by  and  by, 
Churchill's  sons,  in  gazing  upon  it  and  knowing  its  history,  may 
have  the  same  call  of  God  that  their  father  had.  Mrs.  Satterlee 
and  I  will  be  very  grateful  to  you  if,  some  day  when  you  have 
time,  you  will  put  the  text  beneath  it:  "The  hay  field  at  Axen- 
stein.  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  to  the  hills  from  whence  cometh  my 
help"  —  that  is,  if  it  will  not  fatigue  you. 

I  have  just  been  reading  in  the  Guardian  Canon  Newbolt's 
sermon  on  "Spiritual  Things.''  It  is,  I  think,  as  helpful  as 
any  that  I  have  seen.     Did  you  see  it? 


SUNDAY   MORNING 


Another  beautiful  day.  There  seems  to  be  quite  an  exodus 
from  the  Hotel  to-morrow.  Senator  Dillingham  with  his  brother 
and  family,  Col.  and  Mrs.  Newbold,  Dr.  Shepherd  and  family  are 
all  leaving  and  the  McGowans  went  a  week  ago. 

The  Archbishop  so  warmly  recommended  the  hotel  at  Me- 
naggio  that  we  shall  go  there  instead  of  to  Cadenabbia.  I  sup- 
pose we  shall  be  there  about  ten  days  and  then  go  southward  to 
Florence.  My  original  purpose  was  to  continue  on  to  Assisi, 
Rome,  Naples,  Amain,  Messina,  Syracuse,  Girgenti,  Palermo, 
but  I  am  hesitating  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  leave 
out  Central  Italy  and  go  from  Florence,  sailing  straight  from 
Genoa  to   Palermo,   by   a   previous  steamer.     This  will  give  us 

one  week  in  Sicily  and  as  X (?)   our  own  steamer  stops  at 

Naples  for  thirty-six  hours,  on  the  homeward  way  from  Palermo, 
we  shall  have  a  chance  for  the  Amalfi  drive  then.  Of  course 
every  one  takes  the  edge  off  the  trip  by  crying  "Malaria! 
Earthquakes  in  Calabria!"  &c.  &c,  but  I  have  been  used  to 
that  cry  whenever  I  have  gone  to  Italy  in  bygone  years,  and  I 
suppose  you  and  Dr.  Rives  have  heard  it  yourselves.  Nevin 
writes  that  Rome  is  perfectly  safe,  and  Dr.  Franz  of  Schwalbach 
says  the  same  of  Florence  and  the  Italian  Lakes  in  September. 
But,  one  third  of  September  is  gone. 

I  wrote  to  Dr.  Rives  saying  how  glad  I  am  that  you  are 
satisfied  with  your  summer  at  Bar  Harbor.     It  was  the  best  of 


3io  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

good  news  to  hear  you  say  that  you  like  it  better  than  any  other 
summer  watering  place.  The  very  tone  of  your  last  letter  to 
Mrs.  Satterlee  shows  that  you  must  be  gaining  strength.  God 
grant  indeed,  that  this  may  be  the  beginning  of  a  really  per- 
manent cure.  I  feel  only  anxious  now,  lest  you  may  overtax 
your  strength  before  the  winter  comes  on.  Dr.  Kinnicutt  said 
that  what  threw  you  back  a  year  ago  was  the  sad  providential 
event  of  last  autumn,  with  the  sorrow,  anxiety  and  nervous  strain 
that  it  necessarily  caused  you.  This  was  our  Father's  doing, 
and  I  believe  that  now  our  Father  by  Whom  the  very  hairs  of  our 
head  are  numbered  will  give  you  renewed  strength  to  do  His 
work. 

I  hope  you  will  think  of  additional  books  for  the  Clergyman's 
Reading  Union  and  write  them  in  a  list. 

We  have  made  a  very  advantageous  arrangement  this  summer 
with  the  S.P.C.K.  whereby  we  can  purchase  their  books  at 
wholesale  prices  and  also  save  the  custom  house  duty  on  them, 
thus  saving  almost  half  of  the  American  cost  which  we  should 
have  to  pay  if  we  bought  them  from  Gorham. 

I  must  be  feeling  stronger  for  my  work  because  the  thought 
of  it  presses  upon  me,  and  the  impatience  to  be  home  grows 
stronger  and  stronger. 

One  care  I  have,  which  gives  some  perplexity  —  I  wish  we 
were  making  greater  progress  at  the  pro-Cathedral. 

I  earnestly  believe  that  sooner  or  later  God  will  open  a 
door  —  some  door  —  whereby  the  work  of  the  pro-Cathedral 
may  be  raised  to  that  plane  of  spirituality  and  efficiency  that  we 
so  much  desire!  I  think  of  Christ's  promise,  "According  to  your 
faith  be  it  unto  you,"  and  I  shall  be  most  grateful  to  you  and 
Dr.  Rives,  if  you  will  remember  this  objecl:  with  me  in  daily 
intercession.  Often  when  I  have  faced  a  blank  wall,  and  con- 
ditions to  which  there  seemed  no  escape,  God  has  suddenly 
opened  a  door  in  the  most  unexpected  way,  and  I  hope  He  will 
do  so  in  the  pro-Cathedral  work,  in  answer  to  our  prayers. 

We  went  to  Church  alone  this  morning,  not  a  single  American 
family  from  the  hotel  was  there!  This  afternoon  we  went 
towards  Schwytz  and  the  air  was  full  of  the  scent  of  new  mown 
hay.    Think  of  it,  on  September  10! 

I  wish  you  could  have  seen  the  chalets  dotting  the  mountain 
side,  on  the  emerald  grass! 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  311 

TO   MRS.    A.    D.    RUSSELL   FROM   FLORENCE 

Ottober  1st,  1905.  —  I  have  put  your  last  letter  away  so  care- 
fully that  I  cannot  find  it,  and  this  is  the  cause  of  my  delay 
in  responding.  I  am  especially  sorry  for  I  wanted  to  have  its 
enclosure  before  me  in  replying,  and  now  I  am  not  able  even  to 
refer  to  the  name  of  the  lady  who  wrote  to  you.  I  read  her 
letter  to  you  carefully,  however,  and  shall  gladly  do  all  in 
my  power  to  assist  her  efforts,  as  soon  as  I  understand  exactly 
what  she  wants.  Of  course,  I,  in  my  position,  can  ask  no  favor 
of  the  government.  I  made  this  rule  ten  years  ago  with  the  most 
beneficial  results,  for  no  other  religious  body  commands  the 
respect  or  confidence,  not  only  from  the  Government  but  the 
people  of  Washington,  that  our  Church  does.  But  I  do  not  sup- 
pose that  your  friend  meant  at  all  that  I  should  make  any  kind 
of  appeal  to  the  Administration  when  she  asked  my  co-operation. 
In  all  other  ways  I  shall  be  glad  to  help  her. 

I  wrote  to  you  last  from  Brunnen.  We  remained  there  a 
whole  month.  I  never  realised  how  beautiful  Lake  Lucerne  is. 
The  coloring  is  absolutely  bewildering  at  times,  in  its  beauty: 
with  the  chrysoprase  green  of  the  lake,  contrasted  with  the 
emerald  green  of  the  pastures,  and  these  mounting  upward, 
alp  on  alp,  until  they  come  to  the  jagged  peaks  and  dazzling 
snows  cutting  themselves  against  the  still  blue  sky. 

Lake  Como  was  a  great  contrast,  and  in  some  ways  a  dis- 
appointment. We  missed  the  vivid  iridescent  coloring  of  the 
Upper  (?)  See,  yet  the  soft,  hazy  Italian  atmosphere  gives  a 
delicate  traceried  effect  to  the  mountains.  One  looks  out  upon 
the  olive  trees  to  the  olive  green  lake,  and  the  Hotel  grounds 
are  fascinating  as  one  walks  beneath  palm  trees,  oleanders  in 
full  blossom,  oranges  and  lemons. 

And  now  we  have  come  to  Florence.  This  Villa  on  the 
Piazza  Independenza  is  almost  historic.  It  was  owned  years 
ago  by  the  mother  of  Anthony  and  Adolphus  Trollope,  and 
here  some  of  their  works  were  written.  It  was  here  also,  in 
Room  36,  that  George  Eliot  wrote  Romola:  coming  home  after 
she  had  studied  a  street  or  a  house  to  write  about  it.  Robert 
and  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  too,  stayed  here  again  and 
again.  How  I  wish  these  walls  could  speak  and  tell  the  story  of 
what  they  have  seen  and  heard. 

Twenty-five    years    ago    I    came    here    completely    under    the 


3i2  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1905 

thralldom  of  Ruskin,  and  I  find  him  almost  as  fresh  and 
interesting  as  ever,  notwithstanding  his  amusing  exaggerations. 
Florence  has  certainly  a  charm  of  its  own,  —  nay  an  atmosphere 
of  its  own  which  is  irresistible.  The  longer  one  stays  the  greater 
becomes  its  power,  and  yet,  if  it  were  not  for  a  few  men  like 
Dante  and  Savonarola,  Florentine  history  would  not  present  a 
noble  record.  This  week  as  we  visited  Savonarola's  cell  in  the 
Monastery  of  St.  Mark  and  read  responsively  the  Psalm  he  kept 
repeating  the  night  before  his  execution,  I  could  not  but  feel 
that  his  life  was  wasted.  He  was  as  full  of  the  spirit  of  reform 
as  Martin  Luther  was  —  twenty-one  years  after  in  15 17.  And 
this  enraged  Pope  Alexander  the  Sixth,  the  father  of  Caesar  and 
Lucretia  Borgia  —  one  of  the  most  depraved  of  the  popes,  to 
such  an  extent  that  Savonarola  was  burnt  by  his  order.  Yet 
the  Florentines  did  not  rise  up  against  the  Pope.  That  was  the 
day  when  the  Art  of  Florence  attained  its  zenith.  The  pictures 
of  that  day  breathed  the  very  spirit  of  devotion  and  stand  at  the 
head  of  religious  painting.  Fra  Angelico  and  Fra  Bartolommeo, 
Bellini  and  Botticelli  and  (in  the  next  few  years)  Raphael  and 
Michael  Angelo  have  never  been  surpassed.  Yet  while  the 
revival  of  art  took  place  in  Italy,  the  revival  of  religion  was  in 
Germany  and  England.  Florence  does  not  hold  her  own  in 
setting  forth  the  highest  ideals,  when  we  think  of  what  other  men 
were  doing  at  other  places  in  the  selfsame  era. 

In  a  few  days  we  shall  be  sailing  for  home.  I  am  growing 
very  impatient  after  this  long  vacation,  to  be  back  at  work 
once  more.  Yet  I  have  followed  the  doctor's  advice;  and  I  sup- 
pose this  very  impatience  is  the  sign  of  returning  strength.  In 
one  way  I  have  not  been  idle,  for  I  was  able  to  accomplish  con- 
siderable work  in  England  for  the  Cathedral  of  Washington,  and 
have  written  to  almost  all  the  active  working  reclors  of  the  Dio- 
cese, especially  those  in  the  country,  and  from  the  answers  I 
have  received  from  them,  I  know  all  the  work  which  has  been 
going  on  in  my  absence.  It  is  most  encouraging  and  interesting. 
Never  before  have  the  parishes  been  in  so  healthful  and  vigorous 
life.  God  grant  that  this  may  mark  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era  in  our  Diocesan  life. 

This  is  one  of  the  last  letters  that  I  shall  write  before  sail- 
ing, and  I  cannot  express  .  .  .  my  deep,  deep  gratitude  to 
you  for  your  generous  and  delicate  consideration.  You  have 
made  this   European  trip   to  me  —  to   us   all,  —  what  it  never 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  313 

could  have  been  except  for  your  thoughtfulness.  I  am  writing 
to  you  in  confidence,  when  I  say  that  I  believe  God  Himself 
must  have  put  it  into  your  heart  to  help  the  first  Bishop  of 
Washington  at  a  special  time,  when  the  burden  of  financial 
anxiety  was  beginning  to  weigh  upon  him  pretty  heavily.  You 
are  the  first  person,  and  this  is  the  first  occasion,  upon  which 
I  have  ever  opened  my  lips  upon  this  matter.  Nor  would  I  do 
this  now,  were  it  not  that  every  cloud  has  been  dispelled  and 
every  burden  of  this  kind  lifted. 

I  ought  to  say,  that,  over  a  year  ago,  —  before  I  was  taken 
ill,  others  in  Washington  began  to  realize  that  the  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  was  in  need  of  a  fuller  support  in  the  doing  of  his  work 
and  this  seemed  to  me  nothing  less  than  Providential.  Then, 
by  and  by,  came  your  most  generous  gift,  lifting  every  financial 
burden  from  my  heart:  and  now  I  feel  as  though  I  were  really 
beginning  my  life  over  again,  with  new  hopes,  new  energy  and  a 
new  strength.  I  go  home  more  free  from  care  and  anxiety  than 
I  have  been,  in  the  ten  years  of  my  residence  in  Washington. 
And  this  is  due  to  a  generous  consideration  on  your  part,  which 
would  have  been  overwhelming,  had  it  not  been  as  you  said  asso- 
ciated with  your  dear  mother's  birthday.  I  felt,  too,  that,  given 
as  it  was  to  a  Bishop  of  the  Church,  for  the  restoration  of  his 
health,  it  was,  in  a  large  measure,  an  offering  to  God  Himself. 
As  such  I  have  gratefully  and  reverently  received  it,  trusting 
that  the  blessing  which  such  offerings  bring,  may  come  upon 
you  and  yours.  We  shall  never  forget  what  you  have  done  for 
us.  .  .  . 

TO  MRS.   RIVES   FROM   ROME 

Oft.  nth,  1905.  —  I  can  scarcely  believe  we  are  here  in  Rome 
once  more.  We  came  on  Friday  night  —  a  very  crowded  belated 
train  which  did  not  arrive  until  after  midnight;  and  then,  other 
travellers  kept  the  hotel  omnibus  waiting  for  their  baggage  so  it 
was  half  past  one  before  we  were  in  bed.  But  this  Hotel  is  all 
one  can  desire,  and  "all's  well  that  ends  well." 

On  Saturday  we  drove  about  seeing  the  Piazza  di  Spagna, 
the  Mausoleum  of  Augustus,  the  Corso,  Trajan's  Forum,  the 
Forum  Romanum,  the  Palace  of  the  Caesars  and  the  Colosseum. 
It  was  so  stimulating  and  inspiring  that  we  were  fatigued  by  the 
very  intensity  of  interest  and  feeling,  more  than  by  the  mere 
physical  exertion.  There  is  such  a  constant  demand  upon  all 
the  treasuries  of  memory,   all   that  one  has  read,  all  that  one 


3i4  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

ought  to  know,  that  I  for  one,  feel  humiliated  by  my  ignorance. 
Constance  was  so  greatly  impressed  just  by  one  glimpse  of  the 
Forum,  and  one  visit  to  the  Mamertine  Prison,  that  she  has  been 
poring  over  the  history  of  Rome  ever  since.  The  one  thing  which 
has  somehow  impressed  me  most,  strange  to  say,  is  Rome's 
association  with  St.  Paul.  We  know  comparatively  little  about 
St.  Peter  in  Rome,  but  with  St.  Paul  it  was  different.  He  told 
us  of  his  intense  desire  to  plant  Christianity  here.  Here  he  lived 
at  least  two  whole  years.  Here  he  wrote  his  Epistles  to  the 
Ephesians,  Colossians,  Philippians,  Laodiceans,  Timothy  and 
Philemon.  I  lay  awake  last  night  thinking  of  his  experience  and 
sufferings  here  during  those  two  years;  and,  then,  of  his  robust 
faith,  his  thanksgivings,  his  letter  to  the  Philippians  —  the  "joy 
symphony"  of  the  New  Testament.  I  have  been  re-reading  the 
references  in  these  Epistles,  to  Rome,  and  they  are  very  inter- 
esting. To-day  we  went  to  the  Vatican  and  saw  the  Apollo 
Belvidere,  the  Laocoon,  the  Belvidere  Torso  of  Hercules,  which 
the  blind  Michael  Angelo  used  to  visit  and  feel  with  his  fingers. 
Then  we  went  to  S.  Peter's.  I  sat  there  for  half  an  hour  trying 
to  feel  as  I  used  to,  when  I  sat  in  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  but  it  was 
useless.  St.  Peter's  is  most  impressive,  its  vast  height  and  size 
and  open  spaces  are  attractive,  but  not  devotional.  There  is  a 
wealth  of  encrusted  marbles.  Gilded  panelling  on  the  ceiling, 
mosaics,  glinting  and  glistening  on  all  sides,  square  panes  of  glass 
in  the  windows.  It  reminds  me  more  of  a  "Louvre'3  interior 
than  of  a  church,  of  course  the  high  altar  is  under  the  dome  with 
a  huge  baldacchino  by  Berpman  above  it.  People  walk  all  around 
the  altar.  Then  there  is  another  altar  in  the  chancel  of  the 
Apse  or  Sedilia.  I  looked  all  around  for  the  Pope's  chair,  but 
could  not  find  it,  until  at  last,  I  lifted  my  eyes  to  the  baldacchino 
and  there  twenty-feet  up,  above  the  canopy  over  the  altar  sur- 
rounded by  gilt  clouds  (and  supported  by  the  foundation  of  the 
church)  was  the  Cathedra  of  the  Pontifex  Maximus.  Here  in 
Rome  one  sees  temples  erected  to  the  Divi  Augusti,  the  divine 
Tiberias,  Nero,  Vespasian,  Titus,  —  but  even  in  old  Pagan 
Rome,  there  is  nothing  quite  so  "divine"  as  this  chair  of  St. 
Peter  above  the  altar  of  God  surrounded  by  clouds.  It  is  so 
gigantic  that  I  can  scarcely  believe  that  its  bronze  (containing 
the  wooden  chair  of  St.  Peter!)  is  actually  used  as  a  seat  by  the 
pope.  If  the  pope  does  sit  in  it,  we  have  here  a  very  striking 
illustration  of  the  2nd   chapter  of  II   Thess.     I   took  my  New 


1905]  AD  INTERIM  315 

Testament  out  of  my  pocket  and  read  that  very  chapter  while 
I  was  looking  at  the  chair. 

This  afternoon  we  went  out  on  the  Campagna  where  every- 
thing spoke  of  St.  Paul.  We  passed  along  the  old  Via  Appia 
which  St.  Paul  must  have  travelled  as  he  came  to  Rome  — 
under  the  arch  of  Drusus  which  he  passed  under,  and  then  went 
to  the  great  Basilica  of  St.  Paul  "without  the  gate,"  built  upon 
the  site  of  the  place  where  he  was  beheaded.  Somehow  all  the 
memories  of  St.  Paul  seem  natural,  while  those  of  St.  Peter  are 
unnatural.  One  is  prone  to  doubt  even  the  real  traditions  of 
St.  Peter  at  Rome  on  account  of  these  unreal  additions,  while 
St.  Paul  is  left  alone. 

The  Campagna  is  beautiful.  Over  its  undulating  surface  may 
be  seen  the  flocks  and  shepherds,  beneath  the  ruins  of  the  Clau- 
dian  Aqueduct,  while  in  the  distance  are  the  old  classic  Moun- 
tains —  Soracle,  the  Alban  Hills,  with  the  white  houses  of  Tivoli 
and  Frascati  shining  in  the  sunlight  on  their  purpled  sides. 

Of  course  we  have  been  to  the  Capitol  to  see  the  "Dying 
Gladiator"  and  the  "Marble  Faun";  to  the  Vatican  galleries 
of  sculptures  and  pictures;  to  the  Colosseum,  the  Arch  of 
Titus,  the  Roman  Forum  and  hosts  of  other  places  in  the  four 
days  of  our  sojourn  here.  I  only  wish  I  had  the  strength  to  go 
about  as  I  used  to  do,  but  I  must  not  complain.  I  am  very 
very  thankful  for  the  strength  I  have. 

The  "Cretic"  sails  from  Genoa  Friday,  day  after  to-morrow. 
I  know  not  whether  we  shall  join  her  there  or  at  Naples.  Prob- 
ably Naples,  because  this  will  give  us  three  more  days  of  Rome, 
while  we  should  only  lose  8  hours  of  Palermo.  I  wish  I  could 
have  both!  A  week  from  to-day  we  shall  be  nearing  Gibraltar, 
and  then,  the  days  will  be  soon  sped  which  intervene  between 
this  and  the  time  we  shall  see  you.  How  we  long  to  be  back  in 
America!  Mr.  Grinnell  has  written,  and  Helen  Bowdoin  has  both 
written  and  telegraphed,  to  us  to  come  straight  to  New  Ham- 
burgh. As  we  have  not  seen  Mr.  Grinnell  since  his  wife's  death, 
and  as  she  and  Churchill  lie  side  by  side  in  the  little  cemetery, 
we  shall  spend  All  Saints'  Day  there.  Coming  back  on  Nov.  2 
to  Washington. 

O  how  relieved  I  shall  be  to  be  once  more  at  work,  and  to  see 
your  dear  faces  again.  I  only  hope  that  you  lost  nothing  by 
your  last  set  back  and  that  you  will  be  strong  and  well  this 
winter.     Do  get   well   for  all  of  our  sakes.     Mrs.   Satterlee  and 


3i6  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1905 

Constance  join  in  warmest  love  to  you  and  Dr.  Rives  and  also 
to  Dr.  Rives'  mother.  I  hope  she  has  secured  the  "Delafield 
House,"  it  is  a  very  good  one. 

By  the  time  you  receive  this  letter  I  shall  be  myself  on  the 
American  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

The  party  turned  toward  home  in  the  middle  of  Octo- 
ber passing  Gibraltar  on  the  one  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  battle  of  Trafalgar  when  Nelson  was  killed.  They 
arrived  in  New  York  in  time  to  spend  All  Saints'  Day, 
an  increasingly  sacred  and  significant  feast,  at  New 
Hamburgh.  He  missed  Mrs.  Grinnell  sorely.  There  was 
no  one  in  the  Bishop's  large  and  loving  circle  of  friends 
who  bore  to  him  quite  the  relationship  of  Mr.  Grinnell 
and  his  wife.  Their  lives  were  inwrought  into  his  and 
his  family's  from  the  earliest  days  of  his  ministry.  Gaps 
caused  by  the  passing  of  such  a  woman  as  Mrs.  Grinnell 
are  never  filled  again  in  this  life.  An  empty  space,  kept 
empty  through  all  time,  bears  witness  to  the  permanence 
and  reality  of  love. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE    ELEVENTH   HOUR 

I 905- I 907 

Let  no  man  think  that  sudden  in  a  minute 
All  is  accomplished  and  the  work  is  done;  — 
Though  with  thine  earliest  dawn  thou  shouldst  begin  it 
Scarce  were  it  ended  in  thy  setting  sun. 

F.   W.   H.   MYERS 

THE  great  event  of  the  year  for  the  Cathedral  pro- 
ject was  the  cancellation  of  the  mortgage  on 
the  property,  through  the  generous  gift  of  Mrs. 
Julian  James  of  $50,000  as  a  memorial  to  her  mother. 
Bishop  Satterlee  wrote:  — 

TO  MRS.   JULIAN  JAMES 

Nov.  21,  1905.  —  My  heart  is  too  full  for  utterance.  Words 
fail  in  a  time  like  this.  I  can  only  say  that  I  feel  bewildered  as 
one  always  does  in  a  supreme  crisis  of  life.  I  can,  at  least,  real- 
ize that  the  Cathedral  Foundation  owes  to  you  beyond  all  others 
a  lasting  debt  of  gratitude.  All  through  these  years,  while  other 
magnificent  gifts  have  come  for  specific  objedls  for  which  we  are 
grateful,  the  Cathedral  Trustees  have  felt  that  the  one  chief 
objecl:  of  paramount  importance  has  always  been  the  freedom 
of  the  land  from  all  debt.  Until  this  was  accomplished  we  felt 
a  sense  of  insecurity,  —  and  I  most  of  all. 

On  the  first  Sunday  of  September,  1898,  I  remember  walking 
out  in  the  woods,  saying  to  myself,  "This  is  the  end  of  my 
freedom,  perhaps,  for  life,  for  next  Wednesday  my  life  will  be 
mortgaged,  with  the  purchase  of  the  Cathedral  land,  and  will 
never  be  free  again  until  that  whole  Cathedral  mortgage  is  paid." 

That  was  seven  years  ago:  and  I  have  felt  a  sense  of  im- 
prisonment, day  and  night,  ever  since,  —  felt  that  I  never  would 
be  free,  until  every  dollar  of  the  mortgage  was  paid. 

Do  you  wonder,  then,  dear  Mrs.  Julian  James,  that  I  am 
bewildered  to-day,   at  the  consciousness  of  being  once  more  a 


3i8  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

free  man?  I  breathe  the  fresh  air  and  feel  as  I  have  not  felt 
since  August  1898. 

Now,  the  debt  is  gone  forever  and  you  have  lifted  the  entire 
burden!  My  heart  goes  out  in  gratitude  to  you.  May  God  bless 
you  for  what  you  have  done.  Now  turn  with  me  from  the  past 
to  the  future. 

The  Cathedral  Board  of  Trustees  have  not  dared  to  think 
beyond  the  mortgage  or  make  any  plans  until  it  was  paid. 
Whenever  the  thought  came  up,  I  checked  it  lest  I  might  lose 
my  practical  grasp  upon  the  present  situation.  Now,  you  have, 
in  one  day,  obliterated  the  two  or  three  years  to  which  we  looked 
forward  before  the  debt  should  probably  be  paid.  And  instead 
of  1908  we  can  begin  now  in  1905  to  devise  plans  for  the  build- 
ing of  the  great  Gothic  Cathedral.  A  new  era  has  dawned  in 
the  history  of  the  Washington  Cathedral.  From  Thanksgiving 
Day,  1905  we  may  look  forward  to  a  great  increase  of  interest 
and  sympathy  all  over  the  country,  for  people  will  now  begin 
to  see  that  we  are  going  right  onward. 

To-morrow  morning  we  are  to  have  a  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  at  which  Mr.  Butler's  letter  regarding  your  magnif- 
icent gift  will  be  read.  It  will  be  a  memorable  day  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Cathedral,  and  I  feel  quite  sure  that  before  the 
meeting  is  over  the  small  amount  yet  to  be  raised  above  the 
$50,000  will  be  in  hand,  in  the  glow  and  gratitude  and  surprise 
of  that  moment. 

And  now,  may  I  add  one  still  more  personal  word  to  this 
very  personal  letter  in  which  I  have,  for  the  first  time  spoken 
to  any  one  about  the  burden  I  have  had  to  bear  for  seven  years? 

Nov.  21,  1905  is  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  my  ordination 
to  the  sacred  ministry  of  the  Church.  When  Mr.  Butler's 
letter  came,  announcing  your  great  gift,  I  felt  impelled  to  go 
with  Mr.  Warner  and  the  household  of  the  Bishop's  House, 
into  the  chapel  and  render  thanks  to  Almighty  God  and  Christ 
our  Reigning  King  in  Heaven  for  the  great  benison  which  had 
fallen  upon  this  whole  Diocese. 

How  little  did  I  dream  on  Nov.  21,  1865,  that  on  the  for- 
tieth anniversary  of  that  day  the  intelligence  would  be  brought 
to  me,  that  the  greatest  Cathedral  of  the  American  Church 
would   be  made  secure  for  all  coming  time. 

When  you  come  back  to  Washington  we  shall  talk  together 
about  the  Sun  Dial  and  the  Cathedral  Landmark.     I  want  it 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH   HOUR  319 

to  be  exactly  what  you  yourself  would  have  it.  It  will  be 
a  blessed  memorial,  indeed,  of  your  dear  sainted  mother. 
The  very  consciousness  that  it  commemorates  her  adds  to  its 
blessedness. 

TO   MRS.   JULIAN   JAMES 

Xmas  Eve,  1905.  —  Just  one  word  to  tell  you  how  happy  you 
have   made   my   Xmas. 

I  have  begun  a  new  life,  I  am  thinking  thoughts  and  planning 
plans,  which  I  thought  my  successor  in  the  Episcopate  was 
to  think   and   plan. 

God  bless  you  and  give  you  the  great  joy  this  blessed  Xmas 
tide. 

The  close  of  one  responsibility  was  the  signal  for  the 
Bishop  to  assume  another.  His  idealism  knew  no  rest 
and,  as  is  elsewhere  recorded,  he  threw  his  energies  in 
the  direction  of  building  the  Cathedral  or  at  any  rate 
preparing  plans  for  it. 

In  the  midst  of  increasing  administrative  duties  he 
found  some  time  at  least  for  that  pastoral  attention  to 
the  clergy  of  his  diocese  which,  more  than  anything  else, 
he  cared  for.  The  value  that  he  attached  to  preaching 
finds  expression  in  an  address  he  made  to  the  Washing- 
ton Clericus  on  February  20,  1906.  Of  more  importance 
far  than  the  intrinsic  worth  of  what  he  said,  was  the 
thought  and  care  bestowed  on  the  preparation.  He 
wrote  for  advice  to  four  prominent  Bishops  —  Hall, 
Gailor,  Brewster  and  Lawrence  —  whose  replies  he  incor- 
porated in  his  address.  He  first  tried  to  analyze  the 
cause  of  pulpit  failures.  "You  remember  what  Phillips 
Brooks  said  when  the  remark  was  made  that  Dr.  So-and- 
So  preached  above  the  heads  of  his  congregation.  'No,' 
was  his  reply,  'he  is  preaching  beneath  their  feet.'  When 
the  question  is  asked  why  does  the  pulpit  fail  in  these 
days,  this  is  our  first  answer.  It  is  because  the  preacher 
and  the  congregation  are  at  cross-purposes.  The  people 
come  longing  for  spiritual  food,  they  are  given  a  stone. n 
A  second  cause  he  found  to  be  sensationalism,  adver- 
tizing "a   subject  that  will   catch   the  eye  or  pander  to 


320  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1905 

the  public  taste  for  excitement."  The  modern  scientific 
training  has  created  distaste  for  rhetoric.  To-day  "men 
want  the  eloquence  of  fads,  and  the  clear  statement  of 
truths  which  all  feel  and  recognize."  The  taste  of  the 
day  among  Christian  men  is  definitely  ethical.  They 
are  feeling  after  that  which  will  make  for  good  condudt. 
Hence  "we  ought  to  be  experts  in  interpreting  the  moral 
law.  Said  a  very  prominent  churchman  to  me  the  other 
day:  'The  difficulty  is  that  our  clergy  have  not  the  skill 
and  power  to  apply  the  high  moral  and  spiritual  stand- 
ard of  the  Gospel  to  these  practical  issues,  and  interpret 
that  standard  to  the  conditions  of  modern  civilized  life 
in  a  way  that  will  help  the  people/  It  is  no  easy  task 
to  get  beneath  the  surface  of  the  lives  of  men  so  as  to 
be  apt  in  our  teaching. 

There  before  us  in  the  pews  every  Sunday  are  farmers, 
tradesmen,  do&ors,  lawyers,  politicians,  business  men,  men  of 
wealth,  fashionable  women.  While  we  are  preaching,  each  one 
of  these  is  saying  to  himself  or  herself,  "my  rector  does  not 
begin  to  comprehend  the  kind  of  temptations  I  meet,  or  the 
practical  difficulties  with  which  I  have  to  contend  every  day  as 
a  Christian,"  and  it  is  true.  Years  ago  I  felt  the  presence  of 
this  difficulty  and  talked  about  it  to  some  of  the  intelligent 
dodtors,  lawyers,  business  men  of  Calvary  Church.  I  asked 
them  to  come  to  a  monthly  communicants  meeting,  where  we 
might  informally  discuss  together  the  subjects  and  consider  the 
pra&ical  difficulties  that  every  doctor,  lawyer,  business  man 
had  to  meet,  in  striving  to  carry  out  the  principles  of  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount  in  his  own  daily  life.  I  expected  and  hoped 
to  derive  such  benefit  from  these  discussions  that  I  could  go 
into  the  pulpit  and  preach  in  a  practical  way,  which  would 
bring  the  views  of  the  Gospel  home  to  the  hearts  of  the  men 
and  women  of  my  congregation.  But  the  difficulty  was  far 
greater  than  I  anticipated.  The  laymen  could  find  fault  and 
criticize,  but  they  could  not  help;  they  were  ready  enough  to 
get  up  and  speak,  but  what  they  did,  was  to  preach  little  ser- 
monettes,  which  flew  just  as  far  afield  and  wide  the  mark  as 
my  own  Sunday  discourses.  We  learn  by  failure,  and  I  really 
believe  that  if  I  had  had  the  courage  and   perseverance,  to  keep 


1 907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR  321 

on  through  a  succession  of  such  failures,  by  and  by  these  Chris- 
tian laymen  who  were  so  ready  to  help  me,  would  have  found 
out  what  I  was  driving  at,  and  would  have  really  contributed 
in  the  end  a  great  deal  of  valuable  information  to  their  rector. 
I  throw  this  out  as  a  suggestion  of  a  method  which  I  honestly 
think  would   ultimately  give   practical  results. 

On  March  24  and  25,  he  celebrated  the  tenth  anni- 
versary of  his  Episcopate.  There  was  an  anniversary 
service  in  the  pro-Cathedral  on  the  24th  at  which  Bishop 
Paret  preached,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  McKim  presented  an 
address  on  behalf  of  the  Standing  Committee.  At  the 
Diocesan  Convention  the  year  before  he  had  "expressed 
the  hope  that  the  Tenth  Anniversary  of  the  Diocese  of 
Washington  might  be  commemorated  by  the  cancelling 
of  all  parish  debts.  The  payment  of  the  Cathedral  debt 
itself  seemed  a  providential  furthering  of  this  plan  which 
could  not  but  be  an  inspiration  to  the  devoted  Church- 
men and  Churchwomen  in  this  Diocese."  *  About  one- 
fourth  of  the  whole  parochial  indebtedness  of  the  Diocese 
was  raised  in  response  to  his  plea  for  the  Bishop  of 
Washington's   Fund. 

The  Trustees  of  the  Fund,  composed  "of  very  able 
financiers  and  business  men  combined  with  some  of 
the  principal  clergy,"  had  just  been  incorporated  (March 
2,  1906)  and  by  action  of  the  Diocesan  Convention  of 
1907  was  recognized  as  an  institution  of  the  Diocese.2 
By  means  of  this  Fund  the  debts  of  the  several  parishes 
of  the  Diocese  were  refunded  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest 
than  hitherto  paid,  and  the  interest  thus  saved  was  in- 
vested in  the  original  parish  debt.  The  scheme  was 
an  able  piece  of  systematization  and  economy.  It  was 
sufficiently  elastic  to  allow  of  general  application  and  the 
only  thing  necessary  to  insure  its  success  was  the  "will- 
ingness of  the  people  of  the  respective  parishes  to  lend 
their  money  to  their  Church  at  2§%." 

1  Diocesan  "Journal,  1906,  p.  33. 

2  See  Diocesan  Journal,  1906,  p.  27;  1907,  pp.  18,  19:  also  Prospeclus  for 
Refunding  the  Debts  of  the  Several  Parishes  in  the  Diocese  of  Washington. 


322  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

The  inadequate  stipends  of  the  country  clergy  of  the 
Diocese  greatly  distressed  him.  "With  shame  and  hu- 
mility I  am  obliged  to  say  that  the  average  salary  re- 
ceived by  a  country  redlor  in  the  Diocese  is  less  than  one 
half  what  the  average  bricklayer  receives.  Do  you  realize 
what  this   means? 

"If  the  stipend  of  our  country  clergy  —  men  who  have 
had  special  training  for  their  work  in  the  College  and 
Seminary,  to  be  leaders  of  their  fellowmen,  and  upon 
whom  the  moral  welfare  of  the  whole  community  often- 
times so  largely  depends  —  were  doubled  in  amount, 
it  would  not  be  more  than  an  ordinary  mechanic  receives 
to-day. "  1 

Bishop  Satterlee  has  been  criticized  for  not  giving  more 
time  than  he  did  to  visiting  the  rural  part  of  his  Diocese. 
He  did  not,  it  is  true,  emulate  the  practice  of  the  beloved 
Bishop  Pinckney  (Bishop  of  Maryland  from  1870  to 
1883)  who  gave  a  lion's  share  of  his  time  to  Southern 
Maryland  and,  when  he  felt  it  to  be  to  the  local  advan- 
tage, would  use  his  rare  evangelistic  gifts  for  a  series 
of  services  covering  a  number  of  days  in  this  parish  or 
that.  Then,  too,  it  must  be  recognized  that  Bishop 
Pinckney  had  a  genius  for  the  very  work  to  which  he 
gave  himself  so  unsparingly.  He  knew  his  State  as 
only  a  native  could  know  it,  and  his  long  experience 
of  country  life  gave  him  extraordinary  power  in  rural 
communities. 

The  quarter  of  a  century  which  had  elapsed  between 
his  day  and  that  of  the  first  Bishop  of  Washington  had 
wrought  a  vast  change  in  conditions.  The  administra- 
tive work  of  a  bishop  had  more  than  doubled  in  that 
period.  The  increase  of  institutions,  claims  upon  him 
as  a  bishop  of  the  Church  as  well  as  bishop  of  a  diocese, 
and  the  enlargement  of  urban  centres,  necessitated  a 
new  distribution  of  time.  One  has  only  to  study  Bishop 
Satterlee's  Journal  from  year  to  year  to  marvel  at  his 
prodigious    industry.     It    would    be    a    task,    too,    which 

1  Diocesan  Journal,  1906,  p.  36. 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR  323 

few  would  care  to  undertake  to  cut  out  unnecessary 
engagements  and  to  redistribute  his  time  in  better  pro- 
portion. No  doubt  he  would  have  had  extraordinary- 
personal  influence  among  the  laity  of  Southern  Maryland 
had  he  been  able  to  get  opportunity  to  meet  them  as 
he  used  to  meet  the  villagers  at  Zion  Church.  He  knew 
rural  problems  and  rural  folk  because  he  had  served  a 
long  and  successful  apprenticeship  in  a  country  pastorate. 
His  understanding  and  sympathy  were  always  alive  to 
the  situation.  They  expressed  themselves  in  a  form 
that  he  who  runs  may  read.  Bishop  Satterlee's  enduring 
service  to  the  rural  part  of  his  Diocese  has  been  admirably 
summed  up  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  De  Vries:  — 

First.  He  found  the  rural  parishes  almost  entirely  minis- 
tered to  by  men  of  advanced  years  unable  longer  to  do  aggres- 
sive work,  or  by  deacons  from  Bishop  Paret's  Clergy  School. 
Out  of  funds  provided  by  the  offerings  at  his  consecra- 
tion and  by  friends  in  following  years,  he  brought  the  deacons 
to  Washington  for  one  week  of  study  and  instruction  out  of 
every  month,  under  the  direction  of  himself  and  his  pro-Cathe- 
dral clergy  staff,  and  within  three  years  they  were  all  advanced 
to  the  priesthood  and  at  Bishop  Satterlee's  expense.  By  this 
means,  and  at  Bishop  Satterlee's  expense,  he  not  only  paid  the 
salaries  of  their  instructors,  but  the  expense  of  their  stay  in 
Washington  and  of  their  travel  backwards  and  forwards.  In 
the  next  place  as  opportunity  offered,  he  replaced  the  elder 
clergy  with  younger  men,  and  left  the  rural  parishes  led  by 
strong  men   and  energetic  leaders  and  workers. 

Second.  When  the  salaries  of  the  clergy  proved  so  inade- 
quate that  he  could  not  secure  suitable  men,  or  keep  them  in 
their  places  when  secured,  so  that  great  transiency  was  the 
mark  of  this  work,  he  appealed  to  his  diocese  at  the  annual 
missionary  meeting,  and  through  letters  to  individuals  and  ser- 
mons in  churches,  for  sufficient  funds  to  give  his  country  clergy 
each  a  rectory  and  one  thousand  dollars  a  year  at  least,  or  its 
equivalent.  When  the  diocese  in  convention  assembled  de- 
clared that  all  was  being  given  that  was  possible,  the  Bishop 
personally  pledged  himself  by  his  own  personal  endeavor  to 
secure  additional  funds,  and  did  so  for  two  or  three  years.     The 


324  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

failure  of  anything  like  adequate  response  through  his  personal 
appeals  by  letter  to  individuals  for  this  fund  in  January,  1908, 
brought  him  such  sorrow  and  distress,  that  those  of  his  clergy 
closest  to  him  feel  that  this  contributed  very  largely  to  his 
physical  failure  and  death. 

This  fact,  communicated  at  the  special  meeting  of  the  Cathe- 
dral Council  the  Sunday  afternoon  after  his  death,  brought  im- 
mediate response  from  liberal  churchmen  to  provide  these 
additional  funds  required,  and  ever  since  the  diocese  of  Wash- 
ington itself,  in  convention  assembled,  has  pledged  adequate 
money  each  year  for  keeping  the  salaries  at  the  high  standard 
set  by  Bishop  Satterlee,  and  secured  by  his  own  personal  labor. 

His  responsibility  as  Provisional  Bishop  of  Mexico 
was  terminated  this  year  (April  14)  by  the  consecration 
of  Bishop  Aves  and  the  transfer  of  the  Mexican  Clergy 
to  his  jurisdiction.  The  Mexican  Episcopal  Church  thus 
became  incorporated  into  ours  as  a  foreign  Missionary 
District:,  and  a  series  of  muddles  was  brought  to  a  happy 
termination  largely  through  the  wisdom  and  patience  of 
Bishop  Satterlee.  The  appreciation  in  which  his  services 
were  held  was  marked  by  the  gift  of  a  monolith  to  be 
placed  in  the  Washington  Cathedral  "in  commemoration 
of  this  singularly  interesting  church  movement  in  Mexico." 

The  following  correspondence  concerning  Mexican  affairs 
covers  a  period  of  six  years: 

TO  THE   REV.   H.   FORRESTER 

May  21st,  i8q8.  —  I  have  received  your  letters  and  am  par- 
ticularly sorry  just  at  this  time  when  everything  is  looking  so 
hopeful,  that  there  should  be  a  lack  of  funds  to  support  what 
you  are  doing  in  Mexico.  The  discouragement  has  been  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  my  brother  has  resigned  his  position 
as  treasurer  of  the  provisional  committee,  and  Mr.  Scrymser 
(who  has  done  more  for  us  than  any  one  else)  has  also  resigned 
his  place,  and  refuses  to  take  his  resignation  back;  other  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  have  said  that  they  think  of  resigning. 

I  never  expected  that  new  anxiety  should  come  from  this 
quarter,  and  it  seems  that  trouble  will  never  cease  regarding  our 
Mexican  work.     The  whole  fact  of  the  matter  seems  to  be  that 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR  325 

the  business  men  of  the  committee  who  have  been  supporting 
us  seem  to  intimate  that  our  business  methods  are  unbusi- 
nesslike, and  they  have  said  to  me  that  there  is  no  use  of  my 
asking  their  cooperation  when  we  do  not  follow  their  best  judg- 
ment in   business   affairs. 

The  spiritual  side  of  the  work  they  gladly  and  willingly  leave 
to  the  Bishops  who  have  the  matter  in  charge,  and  to  you. 
There  is  indeed,  the  strongest  confidence  on  all  hands  among 
the  clergy  and  laity  in  you  and  in  the  great  spiritual  work  that 
you  are  doing. 

The  state  of  affairs  at  present  seems  to  be  as  follows. 

If  the  mortgages  could  have  been  foreclosed  and  the  Orphan- 
age and  the  San  Jose  property  could  have  been  closed  and  a 
corporation  formed  and  all  debts  paid,  that  would  have  given 
a  secure  title  to  the  property,  and  things  would  have  gone  on 
well  had  the  matter  been  left  to  take  this  course. 

But  you  have  engaged  the  assistance  of  Mexican  lawyers  and 
are  acting  under  their  advice.  Here  are  two  separate  and  dis- 
tinct plans.  Our  Committee  feel  that  their  plan  was  the  right 
one,  and  while  they  have  faith  in  you,  they  have  not  implicit 
faith  in  the  Mexican  lawyers  to  whom  you  have  committed 
yourself.  They  think  that  possibly  you  may  have  made  a  mis- 
take financially  which  will  cost  us  at  least  $1,500. 

I  think  the  one  desire  on  the  part  of  us  all  is  to  spare  you 
any  unnecessary  anxiety,  when  you  are  doing  your  spiritual 
work  so  well.  Nevertheless  there  is  a  general  feeling  that  you 
have  made  an  error  in  judgment. 

You  may  be  sure  that  our  interest  in  your  work  is  as  intense 
as  ever/  whatever  temporary  errors  of  judgment  regarding  the 
methods  of  administration  may  be. 

FROM   THE    REV.    H.    FORRESTER 

April  (?,  IQ02.  —  Bishop  McLaren  spent  six  weeks  here,  and 
went  thoroughly  into  our  matters.  He  became  deeply  interested 
in  the  success  of  our  movement  for  the  securing  of  the  Epis- 
copate, fully  realizing  the  need  of  it  and  at  once.  He  could 
not  remain  to  the  meeting  of  the  Synod,  unfortunately,  but 
he  did  not  leave  until  after  he  had  advised  with  me  fully  as  to 
what  should  be  done.  All  his  suggestions  were  carried  out,  in 
the  most  loyal  spirit,  and  we  feel  that  we  have  done  all  that  we 
can   do  to   meet  the   wishes  of  the   House  of  Bishops,  as   indi- 


326  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

cated  in  its  reply  to  our  petition.  All  the  documents  have  been 
sent  to  Bishop  Clark  for  approval  and  transmission  to  Cincinnati. 

I  wish  I  might  be  there  —  not  for  the  pleasure  of  it,  but  in 
order  to  meet  any  questions  that  may  arise  —  but  Bishop 
McLaren  thought  perhaps  I  had  better  not  be,  and  then  money 
is  too  scarce  with  us  to  permit  me  to  go,  unless  my  expenses 
were  paid.  Bishop  McLaren  can  speak  for  us,  however,  with  au- 
thority, and  I  am  glad  to  escape  the  journey  and  save  the  time. 
The  probabilities  are  that  I  shall  have  to  go,  later,  unless  the 
whole  matter  is  shelved  indefinitely,  which  I  scarcely  consider  pos- 
sible, though  it  would  be  a  positive  relief  to  me,  in  some  respects. 

I  am  in  the  position  of  a  man  who  thinks  he  sees  a  great 
need  and  a  great  opportunity,  and  feels  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
to  what  he  can  to  provide  for  the  one  and  profit  by  the  other, 
but  who,  in  order  to  do  this,  must  sacrifice  himself.  If  God 
opens  the  way  I  must  walk  in  it,  of  course;  but  if  He  sees  good 
to  close  it,  I  may  be  thankful  for  my  escape.  I  feel  as  I  suppose 
St.  Paul  did  when  he  said:  "I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two," 
and  I  am  glad  God  is  to  choose  between  the  two,  by  His  ser- 
vants the  American  Bishops,  and  that  the  responsibility  does 
not  rest  upon  me.  I  may  be  mistaken  in  my  view  of  the  mat- 
ter, and,  while  I  am  obliged  in  conscience  to  act  according  to 
that  view,  I  am  ready  to  submit  myself  with  a  glad  will  and 
mind  to  the  Divine  ordering.  The  only  thing  I  ask  of  our 
friends  is  to  seek  and  follow  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  dealing  with  the  question,  giving  due  weight  to  the  repre- 
sentations we  have  made,  as  well  as  to  any  that  be  made  in 
opposition,  and  deciding  the  question  according  to  their  best 
judgment;    and  this  I  believe  they  will  do. 

TO  THE   REV.   H.   FORRESTER 

July  1st,  IQ03.  —  I  am  rather  used  up  and  so  can  only  an- 
swer your  letter  briefly.  The  doctor  is  sending  me  off  for  a 
much  needed  rest. 

You  know  that  my  sympathy  with  the  Mexican  Church  is 
as  great  as  it  has  ever  been,  and  also  my  appreciation  of  the 
value  of  your  own  efforts. 

In  times  past,  as  you  remember,  I  was  not  only  Chairman  of 
the  Mexican  Committee  in  New  York,  but  also  that  I  gave  a 
personal  guarantee  for  the  payment  of  your  salary,  and  that  of 
your  predecessor,  but  now  I  cannot  do  what  I  once  did. 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR  327 

My  own  work  in  the  past  year  has  been  the  hardest  of  my 
whole  ministry,  and  I  cannot  possibly  undertake  any  other 
burden,  or  assume  duties  which  I  should  be  unable  to  discharge. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  am  extremely  reluctant  to  be 
elected  as  provisional  Bishop  of  the  Mexican  Church,  as  I  could 
not  fulfill  one  of  the  duties  of  that  position. 

I  say  this  with  emphasis,  not  from  any  want  of  sympathy 
with  you  and  your  work,  but  simply  because  I  regard  myself 
as  providentially  hindered  from  taking  up  any  new  burden. 

If  the  Mexican  Church  is  in  an  awkward  position  and  wishes 
to  have  merely  a  nominal  provisional  Bishop,  until  the  next 
meeting  of  the  General  Convention,  and  my  acceptance  of  the 
office  for  a  year,  will  help  you  out  of  this  particular  difficulty, 
I  will  consent  to  serve,  for  one  year,  but  when  I  do  this,  it  is 
with  the  understanding  that  no  duties  shall  be  attached  to 
the  office.     But  please  select  some  other  Bishop. 

That  God  will  direct  and  guide  you  in  your  important  work, 
will  be  my  prayer. 

FROM  THE   REV.   H.   FORRESTER 

August  11,  1903.  —  Herewith  I  send  you  the  official  notice 
of  your  election  as  Provisional  Bishop  of  the  Mexican  Church. 

•      •      • 

I  am  so  glad  and  grateful  at  so  happy  a  solution  of  our 
difficulty,  and  I  rejoice  at  this  cordial  recognition  of  your  great 
service  to  the  Church  in  Mexico.  May  God  bless  it  to  His 
glory,  in  the  blessing  of  both  it  and  you! 

In  acknowledging  receipt  of  this  document,  and  accepting 
the  election,  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  state  that  I  am  to  con- 
tinue to  exercise  the  office  of  Vicar,  according  to  the  terms  of 
my  original  appointment  by  Bishop  Williams  —  if  such  be  your 
pleasure.  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  a  formal  document  from  you 
to  the  same  effect.  .  .  . 

TO    BISHOP   DOANE 

Nov.  16,  1908.  —  When  I  assumed  temporarily  the  position 
of  Provisional  Bishop  of  the  Mexican  Church,  I  did  not  think 
that  complications  like  this  would  arise.  I  wish  you  had  taken 
the   place   yourself. 

I  enclose  herewith  a  copy  of  a  letter  that  I  wrote  to  Forrester 
a  week  ago. 


328  A   MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

In  addition  to  this,  I  had  a  conference  with  Bishop  Van  Buren, 
saying  that  it  might  possibly  be  that  Forrester,  on  account  of 
his  health,  would  have  to  resign  his  position  in  Mexico,  and 
asked  him  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  any  good  opening  for  him, 
either  in  Cuba  or  Puerto  Rico.     He  said  he  would  do  so. 

Moreover  I  have  written  to  Lloyd,  requesting  him  to  send 
me  a  detailed  financial  statement  of  money  contributed  for 
work  in  Mexico,  during  the  time  it  has  been  under  the  charge 
of  the  Board,  (i.e.  before  and  after  the  interregnum),  and  also 
such  other  details  as  would  give  me  the  opportunity  of  making 
an  estimate  whether  sympathy  with  his  work  is  increasing  or 
decreasing. 

If  it  is  increasing,  why  then  the  present  status  might  be  con- 
tinued; if,  however,  the  financial  support  is  decreasing,  this 
would  give  us  an  opportunity  of  saying  to  the  general  synod 
of  the  Mexican  Church,  that  they  could  not  look  for  the 
same  financial  aid,  in  future,  which  has  been  afforded  in  the 
past,  unless  the  Mexican  Episcopal  Church  places  itself  tempo- 
rarily under  the  charge  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
of  the  United  States,  until  such  time  as  it  can  spiritually,  mor- 
ally, ecclesiastically,  canonically  and  financially  maintain  its 
own  independent  position. 

I  doubt  very  much,  if  all  financial  aid  were  withdrawn  from 
this  country,  whether  the  Mexicans  would  continue  to  insist 
upon  their  independent  position.  They  have  had  40  years 
opportunity.  No  great  reforms  or  leaders  have  come  to  the 
forefront,  the  congregations  fluctuate  enormously.  I  under- 
stand that  Pueblo,  which  was  in  such  a  flourishing  condition 
when  you  were  in  Mexico,  has  now  closed. 

My  own  opinion  is  we  had  better  advise  Forrester  strongly 
to  remain  in  the  States,  watch  how  the  Mexicans  do  without 
him,  and  then  take  action  by  and  by,  according  to  such  devel- 
opment as  may  providentially  arise. 

TO   BISHOP  J.   H.   JOHNSON 

March  gtby  1904.  —  Dr.  Nevin  has  just  been  here.  He  took 
the  opportunity,  just  previous  to  his  return  to  Europe,  to  stop 
here,  that  he  might  give  me  the  results  of  his  visit  to  Cuba 
and  Panama;    and  as  you  know  he  was  previously  in  Mexico. 

He  understands,  as  no  one  else  does,  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  its  characteristics  of  work,  its  advantages  and  limitations. 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR 


329 


He  spent  an  evening  here,  and  over  and  over  again,  expressed 
his  convidion  that  in  Cuba  and  Panama  and  Mexico,  the  work 
among  the  English  speaking  people  is  far  more  important  than 
that  among  the  Spanish  races,  because  he  says  that  Anglo-Saxon 
ideals  of  civilization  are  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Spaniards 
themselves,  and  that  therefore,  in  order  to  keep  up  to  the  pace 
which  is  now  being  set  in  Cuba,  and  even  in  Mexico,  where 
Americans  are  pouring  in,  that  the  Spanish  themselves  will 
either  have  to  fall  into  the  back-ground  or  else  assimilate  them- 
selves to,  and  cooperate  more  and  more  with,  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
to  comprehend  these  standards. 

He  also  said  that  in  his  visit  to  Panama  he  was  convinced 
that  the  great  and  important  influx  of  Americans  at  the  Isth- 
mus, is  going  to  Americanize  the  new  Republic  of  Panama,  and 
that  when  the  Canal  is  built,  the  influence  from  this  source 
will  be  a  centre  of  radiation  among  the  Islands  of  the  Carib- 
bean sea  and  Mexico  itself. 

He  furthermore  adds,  that,  while  the  Spanish  and  Mexicans 
remain  the  same,  the  Indian  race  there  is  becoming  more  and 
more  dominant,  and  these  Indians  will  more  readily  assimilate 
themselves  with  Anglo-Saxons  than  Spanish. 

He  saw  a  great  deal  of  President  Diaz,  and  over  and  over 
again  he  said  that  the  work  of  Mr.  Forrester  and  the  Mexican 
Episcopal  Church  would  never  amount  to  anything. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  is  extremely  important,  in  his 
view,  that  we  should  concentrate  our  efforts  in  the  Mission  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Mexico,  because,  when  these 
missions  are  successful,  the  Indians  will  have  more  confidence 
in  them  than  they  do  in  the  Mexican  Episcopal  Church. 

There  is  a  great  deal  in  what  Nevin  says,  and  I  am  inclined 
more  and  more  to  his  way  of  thinking  that  if  Forrester  resigns 
his  work,  it  is  more  important  that  we  should  make  every  effort 
to  found  missions  of  our  Church  in  the  various  cities  of  Mexico, 
where  there  are  thousands  of  young  Americans,  and  their  wives; 
and,  from  this  centre  could  radiate  efforts   to  help  the  Indians. 

You  have  been  in  Mexico,  and  I  have  not;  therefore  I  felt 
it  better  to  write  to  you  about  this  matter. 

I  suppose  it  is  better  to  say  nothing  to  Forrester  himself, 
and  if  Nevin  is  right,  simply  to  strengthen  the  rank  among 
American  missionaries  to  English  speaking  congregations,  and 
let  other  things  gradually  take  care  of  themselves. 


330  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1905 

TO  THE  REV.  H.  FORRESTER 

April  16,  1904.  —  I  feel  that  I  owe  you  an  apology,  for  not 
answering  your  letters  more  satisfactorily,  and  at  length.  My 
only  excuse  is,  that  in  this  last  winter,  I  have  lost  the  three 
men  nearest  to  me,  bound  by  ties  of  blood,  and  in  the  inter- 
vening time,  I  have  been  far  from  well. 

On  Tuesday  last,  I  attended  the  first  Board  meeting  at  which 
I  have  been  able  to  be  since  December. 

A  great  many  questions  of  importance  came  up  about  the  con- 
duct of  the  missionary  work  at  large.  Among  other  things,  I  was 
asked  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Sub-Committee  on  Mexico. 

It  appears  that  there  is  a  growing  need  of  spiritual  and 
pastoral  care,  among  those  people  from  the  United  States, 
especially  young  business  men  and  their  families  who  are  resid- 
ing for  a  longer  or  shorter  period  of  time  in  different  parts  of 
Mexico,  and  who  are  coming  in  increasing  numbers.  The  con- 
ditions have  greatly  changed  within  the  past  few  years  in  this 
respect,  and  the  time  has  come,  when  a  responsibility  is  thrown 
upon  the  Church,  regarding  these  people,  which  she  cannot 
neglect.  I  was  asked  whether  there  was  any  way,  in  which  a 
unification  of  the  work  could  be  brought  about. 

I  am  not  in  a  position  to  give  a  definite  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion. I  do  realize  most  deeply  the  presence  of  that  kind  of  re- 
sponsibility which  is  referred  to.  I  comprehend  also  now  that 
Bishop  Riley  is  dead,  that  the  danger  of  schism  in  his  direction 
is  altogether  gone. 

It  seems  to  me  that  if  the  General  Synod  of  the  Mexican 
Episcopal  Church  would  pass  some  kind  of  a  resolution  giving 
its  assent  to  the  formation  of  these  missions  (and  prayerful 
hope  regarding  them),  for  American  speaking  congregations,  it 
would  pave  the  way  for  a  unification  of  the  work. 

I  know  what  great  influence  you  have  over  these  God-fearing 
Mexican  congregations,  and  how  beneficial  that  influence  will 
be,  if  it  is  used  by  you  in  behalf  of  Godly  union  and  concord. 

If  Bishop  Riley,  on  the  one  hand,  will  go  down  into  history, 
as  one  who  promoted  trouble  and  sorrow:  you  may  be  the 
peacemaker,  raised  up  by  God,  to  bring  happiness  and  union 
and  spiritual  blessing. 

I  wish  I  could  be  nearer  to  you,  so  we  could  talk  over  these 
matters. 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH   HOUR  331 

TO  THE    REV.    W.   JONES-BATEMAN 

(In  charge  of  the  English  Church  in  the  City  of  Mexico) 

May.  21,  1904.  —  I  have  just  returned  from  country  visita- 
tions in  my  own  Diocese,  and  hasten  to  answer  your  letter..  I 
have  read  it  more  than  once,  with  a  great  desire  to  come  to 
Mexico  but  I  have  been  unwell  with  the  grippe  all  the  winter, 
and  my  doctor  only  allows  me  to  keep  on  working  now,  on 
condition  that  I  shall  take  a  prolonged  rest  when  the  summer 
begins,  lasting  until   after  the  General  Convention. 

This  will  preclude  the  possibility  both  of  my  coming  to 
Mexico,  and  finding  any  other  Bishop  who  can  come.  This 
latter  is  always  a  tedious  and  difficult  matter,  because  there 
are  so  few  Bishops  of  our  Church  who  come  to  Mexico. 

There  is  such  a  growing  interest  in  our  Church,  regarding 
work  among  the  English  speaking  people  of  Mexico,  that  I 
wish  I  knew  more  about  the  weak  conditions.  Surely  there 
must  be  little  groups  of  people,  from  England  and  the  States, 
in  little  Mexican  towns,  but,  how  to  discover  where  these  little 
colonies  are,  or  how  large  they  are,  is  a  matter  of  some  perplex- 
ity. I  do  not  know  to  whom  I  can  apply  for  information,  and 
only  know  of  the  fact  through  hearsay  evidence. 

Returning  once  more  to  your  confirmation  class,  I  would 
suggest  that  if  you  think  they  are  sufficiently  prepared  and 
feel  that  it  would  be  a  detriment  to  their  spiritual  welfare, 
after  anticipating  the  sacred  rite  of  confirmation,  to  be  de- 
prived of  it,  that  you  should  act  as  follows  — 

First.  Show  them  very  plainly  that  this  is  a  New  Testament 
ordinance,  and  that  the  confirmation  recorded  in  Ads  VIII,  in 
which  it  is  distinctly  set  forth  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  given, 
took  place  within  five  or  six  years  after  the  Ascension. 

Second.  That  you  make  each  one  of  them  promise  that  they 
will  be  confirmed  when  the  opportunity  offers. 

Third.  That  you  could  then  admit  them  to  the  Holy 
Communion. 

You  yourself  will  know  whether  this  is  a  wise  step  to  take. 

The  negotiations  connected  with  the  transfer  of  the 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  the  Canal  Zone  from  the 
Church  of  England  to  the  American  Church  covered 
several  years.     It  involved  difficult  questions  of  personnel 


332  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

and  finance  which  Bishop  Satterlee,  acting  for  the  Ameri- 
can Church,  worked  out  with  the  Archbishop  of  the  West 
Indies  and  the  Bishop  of  Honduras,  acting  for  the  Church 
of  England.  The  following  letters,  written  after  the 
concordat  was  signed,  seal  the  transaction.  Bishop 
Satterlee  continued  to  act:  as  commissary  of  the  Presiding 
Bishop,  nor  did  he  relax  his  efforts  until  he  died. 

TO  THE    PRESIDING   BISHOP 

March  12th,  igo6.  —  I  acknowledge  with  thanks  the  receipt 
of  your  letter  with  the  three  copies  of  the  enclosed  concordat, 
and  will  transmit  one  of  them  at  once  to  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, who  have,  as  I  understand  it,  consented  to  give  a  financial 
support  to  the  work,  in  fact  they  have  voted  twelve  hundred 
dollars  for  the  salary  of  a  missionary  to  be  sent  there.  I  am 
expecting  to  take  the  papers  with  me  to  New  York,  to  the 
Board  meeting  to-morrow. 

About  my  acting  as  commissary,  I  am  glad  to  do  so,  but  I 
do  not  want  you  in  the  slightest  degree  to  be  trammeled  if  you 
think  some  other  person  would  be  better.  I  assure  you  in  ab- 
solute sincerity,  that  if  I  assume  this  burden  it  will  only  be 
from  no  other  motive  than  that  of  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  Church 
of  God.  I  am  glad  to  do  it  for  this  object,  but  if  you  in  your 
judgment  or  wisdom  think  it  better  that  you  should  act  your- 
self without  a  commissary,  or  to  appoint  another  commissary,  I 
will  take  this  as  an  assurance  that  it  is  God's  will  that  the  work 
could  be  better  done  if  I  yielded  my  place. 

I  implore  you  to  do  that  which  in  your  own  judgment  you 
think  best  for  the  work  itself. 

FROM   THE    PRESIDING   BISHOP    (DR.   TUTTLE) 

March  17th,  igo6. —  Yours  of  the  12th  received.  With  my 
warm  and  loving  thanks  for  your  kind  and  efficient  care  of  the 
Canal  Zone  of  the  past  and  for  the  success  that  has  crowned 
your  efforts  in  arranging  the  matter  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction, 
I  beg  most  earnestly  that  you  will  continue  to  be  the  commis- 
sary of  the  Presiding  Bishop  for  discharging  the  duties  of  said 
jurisdiction.  My  only  hesitation  would  arise  from  the  thought 
of  how  you  are  weighted  with  responsibilities,  which  the  Church 
from  all  sides  seems  to  impose  upon  you,  but  as  you  are  willing 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR  333 

to  serve  as  commissary,  I   am  more  willing  and  most  grateful 
to  have  you  do  so. 

This  summer  (1906)  he  again  went  abroad  where  the 
baths  at  Nauheim  "accomplished  all  and  more  than  he 
expected. "  While  in  England  he  came  into  contact  with 
Mr.  George  F.  Bodley  which  later  (October  8)  led  to  his 
appointment  as  architect  of  the  Washington  Cathedral 
in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Henry  Vaughan.1  He  thought 
of  little  else  than  the  Cathedral. 

TO   DR.    DE    VRIES   FROM    BAD   NAUHEIM 

July  16,  iqo6.  —  In  London  I  saw  the  chief  Gothic  architects 
whose  names  were  given  to  me.  And  from  them  I  gained  most 
valuable  information.  The  cause  which  arrested  the  progress 
of  Gothic  architecture  was  undoubtedly  the  same  which  made 
Greek  sculpture  after  Pheidias,  theatrical;  and  Italian  paint- 
ing after  Raphael,  second  rate.  It  was  self-consciousness, 
self-sufficiency.  Men  gloried  in  their  power  over  nature,  their 
technique,  and  their  inspiration  departed. 

Of  course  we  must  have  an  American  architect,  but  where 
will  we  find  one  who  lives  more  for  the  glory  of  God  than  the 
glory  of  self?  or  who  has  the  religious  inspiration  to  see,  what 
the  old  Gothic  builders  saw?  or  who  has  the  experience  to  build 
results  on  pillars,  supported  by  buttresses,  which  will  stand  the 
thrusts  and  counter  thrusts  —  the  wear  and  tear  of  a  thousand 
years  to  come?  God  grant  that  we  may  be  led  to  the  right 
man. 

I  read  with  great  pleasure  your  description  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Washington  Cathedral,  and  your  expansion  of  the  ideal 
of  the  Cathedral  Council.  You  might  have  gone  even  further 
than  you  did.  The  Council  will  be  an  ideal  representative 
body  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  discussing,  elucidating  and 
advising  on  questions  of  Church  polity  but  also  for  creating  a 
diocesan  sentiment  and  diocesan  unity.  In  fact  the  more  I 
think  of  our  Constitution  for  the  Cathedral,  the  more  I  feel 
we  have  been  providentially  led  into  a  kind  of  organization, 
which  is  so  well  balanced  in  all  its  parts  that  it  is  going  to  be 
effective  and  strong  in  action. 

1  Sec  Appendix  I. 


334  A  MASTER  BUILDER  [1905 

TO  MRS.   A.   D.    RUSSELL   FROM    BAD   NAUHEIM 

July  22,  iqo6.  — To-day  I  am  half  way  through  my  "cure," 
and  I  am  so  glad  that  I  came,  for  Dr.  Schott  tells  me  that  this 
third  course  of  the  baths  will  have  a  most  beneficial,  cumula- 
tive result.  I  place  all  the  more  credence  in  his  word,  because 
the  two  courses  of  the  treatment  last  year  brought  a  recuper- 
ative effect  —  a  restoration  —  which  surprised  even  him  when 
I  returned  this  summer. 

In  fact  I  cannot  but  regard  my  whole  trip  to  Europe  as  prov- 
identially ordered,  not  only  on  account  of  the  Nauheim  treat- 
ment, but  also,  in  my  visit  to  England,  where  it  almost  seemed 
as  if  the  door  of  opportunity  flew  open  before  me.  As  I  landed, 
a  letter  from  the  Bishop  of  Liverpool  was  handed  me,  asking 
me  to  luncheon,  and  then  to  go  with  him  in  his  carriage  to 
view  the  site  of  his  new  Cathedral.  I  accepted,  and  in  the  two 
interviews  I  had  with  him,  I  not  only  saw  the  foundations  of 
Liverpool  Cathedral  in  St.  James'  Park,  but  gained  much  val- 
uable information,  as  the  Bishop  recounted  the  successes  and 
mistakes  they  had  made  in  choosing  the  design.  Then,  we 
went  to  Lichfield.  Here,  also,  the  Bishop  was  most  kind  and 
I  saw  the  very  points  I  most  wanted  to  investigate  in  the 
beautiful  Lichfield  Cathedral. 

We  then  went  to  Gloucester  Cathedral  because,  in  the  cinque 
cento  periods,  Gloucester  exercised  the  strongest  kind  of  influence 
in  England  for  all  those  exaggerations  which  ultimately  caused 
the  downfall  of  Gothic  architecture.  This  was  a  most  valuable 
visit  for  I  saw  here  exactly  what  is  most  to  be  avoided.  Gothic 
architecture  seems  to  have  followed  the  general  laws  of  art. 
When,  in  the  days  of  Pheidias,  Greek  sculpture  awoke  to  the 
consciousness  of  its  greatness  —  as  MahafFy  so  strikingly  shows 
—  it  became  at  once  theatrical,  and  began  to  decline.  So  also, 
after  the  time  of  Raphael,  when  Italian  painters  became  self- 
conscious,  the  old  Masters  at  once  gave  place  to  such  second 
rate  artists  as  the  Caraccis,  Guido  Sassoferrato  and  Carlo  Dolce. 

And  so,  in  like  manner,  when  the  old  Gothic  architects  be- 
came conscious  of  mastery  in  their  craft,  their  work  at  once 
began  to  show  that  their  dominant  motive  was  self  glorification, 
not  the  glory  of  God,  and  they  left  such  specimens  of  archi- 
tectural boastfulness  as  the  choir  of  Gloucester,  Henry  VIPs 
Chapel  in  Westminster  Abbey,  or  St.  Ouen's  in  Rouen. 


1 907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR  335 

This  self-sufficiency  —  not  the  Renaissance,  was  the  real 
cause  of  the  downfall  of  Gothic  architecture,  and  this  is  what 
we  want  most  of  all  to  avoid,  in  Washington. 

I  have  seen  some  other  Cathedrals  this  summer  and  studied 
them  closely.  I  tried  to  go  also  to  Amiens  and  Rheims,  but 
could  not  arrange  it  before  Nauheim.  Besides,  it  was  more 
important  to  spend  the  time  in  the  English  cathedrals  and 
study  their  characteristics. 

While  in  London,  I  had,  moreover,  the  rare  opportunity  of 
meeting  and  conferring  with  some  of  the  greatest  of  the  Eng- 
lish Gothic  architects.  I  met  the  architects  in  charge  of  York 
Minster,  Canterbury  Cathedral  and  Westminster  Abbey.  Be- 
sides these  I  saw  Mr.  Arthur  Reeve,  who  was  strongly  com- 
mended to  me  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Salisbury. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  said  that  Mr.  G.  F.  Bodley, 
who  is  associated  with  young  Gilbert  Scott  in  the  building  of 
the  new  Liverpool  Cathedral,  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  archi- 
tect in  England,  and  the  one  whose  judgment  is  most  to  be 
depended  upon.  I  had  two  interviews  with  Mr.  Bodley  and 
was  greatly  impressed  with  him.  He  was  so  much  interested 
in  Washington  Cathedral,  that  he  wrote  to  me,  before  I  left 
England,  saying: 

"There  are  many  things  I  should  like  to  say  before  you  go 
back  to  your  Diocese.  The  opportunity  that  your  coming 
Cathedral  will  afford  is  vast  for  good.  It  would  be  grand  if 
your  newer  world  in  America  should  show  modern  civilization 
that  the  ancient  dignity  and  beauty  of  religious  Christian 
architecture  can  be  achieved  in  these  days.  It  could  be!  Gothic 
art,  with  all  its  acceptance  of  the  beauty  of  nature,  as  its  basis, 
and    its  added   spiritual,   aspiring  fervour  could  do  all  this." 

Is  not  that  an  enthusiastic  forecast  of  what  Gothic  archi- 
tecture can  now  do,  from  "the  greatest  living  English  architect?' 

Of  course  before  deciding  upon  any  thing  we  should  make 
every  effort  to  find  a  competent  American  architect,  but  nation- 
ality should  not  be  the  first  consideration. 

Again,  when  they  were  choosing  an  architect  for  Truro  Cathe- 
dral in  England,  they  shrewdly  said  "Any  good  architect  can 
draw  a  beautiful  and  attractive  design:  yet,  oftentimes,  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  such  a  design  turns  out  to  be  either 
impracticable  or  inordinately  expensive."  So  they  wrote  to 
different  Gothic  architects  to  submit   plans  of  churches  actually 


336  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

completed  by  them.  This  was  a  very  searching  test  which  it 
will  be  well  for  us  to  follow.  Professor  Moore  has  expressed  a 
doubt  whether  any  American  architect  of  to-day,  can  construe!: 
a  Gothic  vaulted  roof,  which  will  stand  for  centuries.  We  can 
afford  to  take  no  risk  in  a  building  which  is  to  stand  the  criti- 
cism of  all  coming  time;  and  most  of  all,  I  am  afraid  of  those 
self-conscious  men  who  want  to  be  original  and  do  a  "big 
thing."  If  no  American  architect  is  found  to  have  the  right 
qualifications  and  be  perfectly  satisfactory,  then,  there  are 
English  architects  of  acknowledged  preeminence  in  the  archi- 
tectural world,  as  well  as  of  devout,  religious  loyalty  to  the 
ideals  of  our  own  church,  who  can  do  the  work.  This  discov- 
ery has  lifted  a  great  load  from  my  mind.  We  must  have  an 
American  architect  if  the  right  one  can  be  found,  and  I  know 
full  well  the  feeling  with  many,  that  for  this  American  Cathe- 
dral we  must  not  have  a  foreign  architect,  but  it  would  be 
sheer  folly  to  sacrifice  the  Cathedral  itself  for  such  considera- 
tions. Where  would  the  American  Constitution  itself  have  been, 
if  Alexander  Hamilton  had  been  ruled  out  of  its  framers,  be- 
cause he  was  not  a  native  born  American? 

Of  course,  ...  all  this  is  stridly  confidential:  so  confidential, 
that  I  have  told  you  every  thing  even  before  consulting  the 
Cathedral  Chapter.  When  I  left  America  I  was  hopelessly 
bewildered  as  to  the  choice  of  an  architect,  now  I  see  a  plain 
path  before  my  face.  I  believe  that  some  way  will  be  found 
between  the  two  extremes  of  choosing  an  American  architecT: 
who  has  had  no  experience  in  Gothic  vaulting,  and  selecting  an 
English  architecT:  who  knows  nothing  about  our  American  con- 
ditions. I  feel  that  God  is  leading  us,  —  that  God  intended 
me  to  come  abroad  as  a  learner,  that  I  might  see  all  sides  with 
all  the  difficulties  of  the  case;  and  the  way  out  of  them.  And 
I  feel  that  it  is  all  due  to  you:  except  for  you  I  could  never 
have  come  abroad  this  summer.  You  made  it  possible  for  me 
to  do  so,  and  the  result  may  be  —  the  choice  of  an  architecT 
and  a  design  for  Washington  Cathedral,  which  will  awaken 
the  enthusiasm  and  interest  of  all  the  church  people  of  the 
land  as  a  genuine  Gothic  Cathedral  —  full  of  the  old  religious 
feeling  and  aspiration  —  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

In  the  last  Annual  Address  delivered  to  the  Diocesan 
Convention    (1907)    his   chief  thought   is   of  the   colored 


1907]  THE   ELEVENTH  HOUR  337 

work  of  the  Church  and  in  his  own  Diocese.  In  the  fall, 
General  Convention  was  to  meet  and  face  anew  this 
difficult  problem.  Bishop  Satterlee  sent  a  copy  of  what 
he  had  said  on  the  matter  to  each  of  his  brethren  in  the 
American  Episcopate  with  the  following  letter: 

WASHINGTON,  D.C.,  JULY  2,  I907. 

My  dear  Bishop:  I  am  venturing  to  send  you  a  part  of  my 
Convention  address  relating  to  the  negro  question,  and  I  shall 
be  very  grateful  if  you,  in  return,  will  send  me  what  you  have 
said  upon  the  same  subject. 

Faithfully  yours, 

H.  Y.  SATTERLEE 

The  address  is  full  of  that  appeal  to  the  Primitive 
Church  to  which  the  Bishop  was  in  the  habit  of  turning 
for  guidance.  He  felt  that  the  Church  had  failed  in  her 
duty  to  the  negro  from  a  lack  of  effort  to  grapple  honestly 
with  the  problem.  The  missionary  annals  of  the  last 
century  of  work  among  negro  races  in  distant  lands  were 
in  unpleasant  contrast  to  what  we  have  done,  or  rather 
failed  to  do,  at  home.  The  nearness  and  magnitude  of 
the  problem  put  it  in  the  front  rank  of  the  Church's 
responsibility.  One  tenth  of  the  nation,  in  the  Capital 
city  one  third,  was  made  up  of  this  weak  race.  The 
political  and  the  social  aspects  of  the  problem  had  been 
allowed  to  obscure  the  religious.  The  ordinary  difficulties 
of  dealing  with  such  a  problem  were  enhanced  by  the  dif- 
ference in  opinions  between  the  North  and  the  South,  by 
the  premature  enfranchisement  of  the  negro,  by  the  rapid 
increase  of  population,  and  growing  racial  antagonism. 

The  Bishop  had  no  solution  to  present.  The  negroes 
must  be  evangelized  and  taught  the  connection  between 
religion  and  morality.  It  might  be  wise  to  institute  an 
order  of  Negro  lay  readers  and  catechists.  The  confi- 
dence of  the  negro  must  somehow  be  won  so  that  there 
would  be  an  increase  of  candidates  for  the  Ministry. 
The  question  of  a  racial  episcopate  rather  commended 
itself  to  him  though  he  saw  the  many  objections. 


338  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

The  question  was  a  subject  of  hot  debate  at  General 
Convention.  Much  was  written  and  more  said,  but 
beyond  the  enactment  of  Canon  11  providing  for  Suffra- 
gan Bishops,  which  might,  but  has  not  been,  used  racially, 
no  specific  conclusion  was  reached.  It  may  be  that  Edgar 
Gardner  Murphy  came  as  near  the  truth  as  anyone  when, 
admitting  the  numerical  failure  of  the  Church  in  this 
responsibility,  he  added  that  "this  failure  was  not  due  to 
anything  inherently  wrong  or  permanently  inappropriate 
in  the  organization  of  the  Church.  It  has  hardly  been 
used." 

The  closing  of  King  Hall  of  Howard  University,  the 
Theological  School  for  training  negro  students  in  prepara- 
tion for  Holy  Orders,  was  a  grief  and  disappointment  to 
the  Bishop.  He  gave  it  personal  attention  and  lectured 
to  the  students  every  week  until  the  last.  The  Board  of 
Missions  in  order  to  concentrate  its  strength  on  the 
upbuilding  of  the  Divinity  School  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  and 
because  Southern  Dioceses  were  not  sending  their  students 
to  King  Hall  in  sufficient  numbers  to  give  it  the  character 
of  a  general  institution  of  the  Church,  in  1905  withdrew 
its  annual  grant.  In  a  memorandum  prepared  by  the 
Bishop  at  this  time  for  the  family  of  the  founder  of  King 
Hall,  he  says  that  "next  to  the  Cathedral  of  Washington, 
the  welfare  of  King  Hall  has  been  the  greatest  burden 
that  I  have  to  bear,  and  its  welfare  the  greatest  cause 
for  concern  and  anxiety. " 

About  four  or  five  years  go  circumstances  arose  whereby 
the  Trustees  discovered,  most  unexpectedly,  that  King  Hall  no 
longer  evoked  the  sympathy  of  the  Southern  Bishops,  for  they 
were  sending  all  their  candidates  for  Holy  Orders  to  Peters- 
burg in  Virginia. 

The  Bishop  of  Washington  and  others  of  the  Trustees  have 
made  every  effort  to  discover  the  cause  of  this  alienation  of 
Southern  sympathy.  They  have  written  a  personal  letter  to 
each  Bishop,  and  the  only  reason  assigned  in  reply  is  that  the 
graduates  are  not  fitted  to  work  among  colored  churches  in  the 
South. 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR  339 

This  statement  is  all  the  more  surprising,  because  at  the 
present  time,  the  majority  of  these  graduates  are  doing  very 
effective  work  with  the  approval  of  their  Bishops  in  localities 
which  are  South  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line. 

After  considering  the  matter  very  carefully,  I  have  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  only  cause  of  this  alienation  of  the 
sympathy  of  most  of  the  Southern  Bishops  is  the  fact  that 
they  honestly  believe  that  the  whole  atmosphere  of  Washing- 
ton is  harmful  to  the  negro  race,  and  that  every  Candidate  for 
Holy  Orders  educated  here  must  necessarily  imbibe  ideas  regard- 
ing social  and  political  equality  of  the  negro  and  white  races. 

It  is  needless  to  say  to  you  that  King  Hall  stands  for  no  such 
ideas  at  all.  The  Bishop  of  Washington  in  his  weekly  in- 
struction to  the  students,  holds  up  to  them  constantly  (1)  the 
truth  so  strongly  emphasised  by  Christ,  that  the  Kingdom  of 
God  is  not  the  Kingdom  of  this  world;  (2)  that  the  primitive 
Church  from  its  earliest  history  in  the  days  of  the  Roman  Empire 
has  had  all  manner  of  social  and  political  obstacles  to  contend 
with;  (3)  that,  following  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, she  held  aloof  from  all  political  and  social  questions, 
issues  and  distinctions;  (4)  that  the  invariable  course  of  action, 
from  which  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  has  never 
swerved,  has  been  to  inculcate  that  Christ-like  character,  de- 
scribed by  St.  Paul,  as  one  in  which  there  "can  be  neither  Jew 
nor  Greek,  there  can  be  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  can  be  no 
male  and  female,  for  we  are  all  one  man  in  Christ  Jesus,"  (Gal. 
Ill  28  R.  V.),  and  (5)  that  this  has  been  the  solution  of  all  the 
political  and  social  difficulties  with  which  the  Church  has  had 
to  contend  in  the  nineteen  hundred  years  of  her  existence, 
and  through  which  she  has  been  the  educator  of  the  world. 

It  is  the  aim  of  King  Hall  to  root  this  New  Testament  ideal 
so  deeply  in  the  conviction  of  its  graduates,  that  in  aiming  for 
it  as  the  real  solution  of  all  social  problems,  they,  as  ministers 
of  Christ,  will  refuse  to  be  entangled  in  the  subordinate  ques- 
tions of  political   or  social   equality. 

It  is  most  important,  especially  at  this  present  time,  that  this 
positive  stand  should  be  taken  by  the  negro  ministry  of  our 
branch  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  in  meeting  the  issues  which  are 
bound  to  arise  in  the  future;  because,  whether  we  will  or  no, 
the  colored  people  are  different  today  from  what  they  were 
thirty   years   ago.     Those   mulattoes  who  are  one  half  or  three 


34o  A  MASTER   BUILDER  [1905 

fourths  white,  may  be  classed  as  "negroes,"  but,  as  a  matter 
of  fact  they  have  one-half  or  three-fourths  of  the  brain  power 
and  moral  force  of  the  white  race,  and  they  are  bound  to  make 
the  most  out  of  their  opportunities  of  life,  intellectually  and 
morally.  In  meeting  this  question  we  have  not  only  to  remem- 
ber the  negroes  of  Northern  and  Southern  States,  but  their 
close  correlation  with  that  other  American  negro  population  in 
Panama  and  Costa  Rica,  and  other  parts  of  Central  America 
and  the  West  Indies. 

If  the  Episcopal  Church  is  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  best 
and  most  progressive  of  the  negro  people,  it  must  have  the 
foresight  of  the  statesman  as  well  as  the  Christian,  and  remem- 
ber that  conditions  will  inevitably  change  in  the  next  few  years. 
Therefore  it  must  not  bring  up  its  colored  clergy  in  the  posi- 
tion of  tutelage.  It  must  commit  itself  to  no  partisan  theories 
whatsoever,  —  to  no  Northern  or  Southern,  Bostonian  or  Charles- 
tonian  ideas,  regarding  social  or  political  equality.  It  must 
simply  give  to  those  colored  people  who  desire  to  better  their 
condition,  full  opportunities  for  improvement  and  education. 
If  the  Episcopal  Church  does  not  do  this,  the  better  class  of 
negroes  in  the  future  will  not  be  Church  people,  but  Roman 
Catholics,  Methodists  or  Baptists. 

Archdeacon  Williams  commenting  on  the  Bishop's 
interest  in  the  negroes  says: 

He  was  punctilious  in  keeping  his  appointments  with  them. 
Whatever  appointments  he  had  to  break,  owing  to  press  of  un- 
expected duties,  he  always  tried  to  keep  those  made  with  the 
colored  people.  He  once  said  to  me  when  talking  about  this, 
that  he  wanted  no  one  to  say  after  he  was  dead  that  he  had 
ever  failed  in  his  duty  to  that  people,  whatever  else  he  may 
have  failed  in.  He  was  extremely  sensitive  on  that  point,  fear- 
ing lest  some  one  should  say  that  he  had  neglected  them  for 
some  other  and   pleasanter  duty. 

He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  and  success  of  King 
Hall.  He  found  that  institution  in  operation  in  preparing 
students  for  the  ministry,  when  he  entered  on  his  work  in  this 
Diocese,  and  at  once  took  an  active  part  in  placing  it  upon  its 
feet.  For  several  years  he  secured  the  services  of  the  clergy  of 
St.    Mark's    pro-Cathedral,    for    instruction    to    the    candidates, 


1907]  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR.  341 

having  the  latter  at  the  clergy  house  of  that  Church  every 
week  for  lectures.  When  the  clergy  house  broke  up,  owing  to 
changes  at  St.  Mark's,  he  still  had  the  colored  students  once  a 
week  at  his  chapel,  and  lectured  to  them  conscientiously  to  the 
end.  The  break-up  of  King  Hall  was  a  great  grief  to  the  Bishop, 
as  it  was  to  the  rest  of  us  who  have  always  clung  to  a  linger- 
ing hope  that  it  might  be  started  on  a  new  lease  of  life,  under 
changed  conditions.  But  the  withdrawal  of  the  grant  made 
by  the  Board  of  Missions,  though  it  amounted  to  only  a  com- 
paratively small  sum  in  the  total  of  their  operations,  was  a 
serious  blow  to  the  institution,  and  necessitated  calling  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  which  after  a  long  and  anxious 
discussion,  decided  to  close  the  Hall  for  the  present,  and  re- 
open it  later  on,  under  new  conditions.  Alas!  that  time  never 
came,  and  the  good  Bishop  died  carrying  the  burden  of  King 
Hall  to  his  grave. 

As  to  his  actual  work  among  the  Negroes,  it  was  planned  as 
carefully  as  was  his  work  among  the  whites  of  the  Diocese.  He 
arranged  his  confirmations  for  them  and  his  other  visitations 
among  them,  with  care  and  thoughtfulness,  trying  in  every  way 
to  let  them  see  that  he  cared  for  them  equally  as  much  as  he 
cared  for  the  whites. 

He  was  moderately  successful  in  his  efforts  to  develop 
missions  in  Washington  for  the  colored  people,  and  found 
satisfaction  in  what  he  was  able  to  accomplish.  But  his 
mind  did  not  rest  with  the  local  problem  of  100,000 
negroes.  He  took  into  his  heart  the  entire  question, 
laying  stress  on  the  fact  that  it  was  a  matter  of  concern 
and  responsibility,  not  only  for  the  South,  but  for  the 
North  as  well.  Northern  man  that  he  was,  he  saw  that 
if  responsibility  for  the  negro  was  greater  in  any  one 
section  of  the  country  than  another,  a  special  duty  rested 
on  the  North,  born  of  the  fact  that  the  negro  situation, 
as  we  now  know  it,  was  the  creation  of  the  North. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE 

Thy  will  was  in  the  builder  s  thought; 
Thy  hand  unseen  amidst  us  wrought; 
Through  mortal  motive,  scheme  and  plan, 
Thy  wise  eternal  -purpose  ran. 

J.   G.   WHITTIER 

ONE  good  and  great  man,  since  gone  to  God,  said  of 
another  good  and  great  man,  still  exercising  his 
goodness  and  greatness  on  earth,  that  he  had  never 
known  anyone  who  seemed  to  look  so  exclusively  to 
God's  will  as  the  directive  force  of  his  life  as  did  his 
friend.  Bishop  Satterlee  was  not  this  man  but  he  was  a 
kindred  spirit.  He  squared  everything  to  and  measured 
everything  by  the  will  of  God  as  he  understood  it. 

Whoso  hath  felt  the  Spirit  of  the  Highest 
Cannot  confound  nor  doubt  Him  nor  deny: 

Yea  with  one  voice,  O  world,  tho'  thou  deniest, 
Stand  thou  on  that  side,  for  on  this  am  I. 

To  him  the  will  of  God  came  through  many  channels  — 
the  Bible  in  the  Church,  the  Church  in  the  Bible,  the 
Sacraments,  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  He  was  loyal 
to  all  and  found  greater  not  lesser  freedom  in  his  loyalty. 
Bishop  Hall  in  his  memoir  of  Father  Benson  in  the 
Church  Quarterly  Review  (April,  191 5)  speaks  of  the 
latter's  "general  attitude  of  loyal  obedience  to  constituted 
authority.  A  like  loyalty  he  always  showed  to  the 
Anglican  position  as  to  doctrine,  discipline,  and  worship, 
as  representing  true  Catholicism.''  The  same  might  be 
said  of  Bishop  Satterlee. 

The  Bible  for  the  people  in  their  own  tongue  was  to 
him  so  important  that  it  stood  second  to  nothing  in  the 
commonwealth  of  God  where  all   are  endowed  with  the 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  343 

illumination  of  the  indwelling  Spirit.  The  Canterbury- 
Ambon,  illustrating  in  stone  the  history  of  the  English 
Bible,  is  a  permanent  declaration  to  future  generations  of 
his  own  belief  as  to  the  place  of  the  Bible  in  the  Church. 
Not  that  he  attached  undue  value  to  its  mere  dissemina- 
tion. In  the  hands  of  the  untutored  the  Bible,  however 
much  it  may  have  done,  in  spots  and  at  times,  to  emanci- 
pate the  simple-minded  from  dense  spiritual  ignorance  or 
perverted  ecclesiasticism,  can  be  a  foe  of  Christian  unity 
and  a  breeder  of  controversy  and  negation.  But  with  us 
there  is  always  a  volume  of  interpretation  in  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  to  accompany  the  written  word  of 
God.  Commenting  on  the  admirable  work  of  the  Prot- 
estant Churches  in  perfecting  the  International  and  other 
series  of  Bible  lessons  for  Sunday  Schools,  he  says: 1 

We  have  for  guides  two  text-books,  which  should  never  be 
out  of  our  hands,  as  the  basis  for  all  our  teachings  —  the  Bible 
and  the  Book  of  Common   Prayer. 

The  Bible,  as  God's  revelation  of  Himself  to  man,  is  the  book 
not  of  one  age,  but  of  all  ages;  not  of  one  race,  but  of  all  races; 
not  of  one  class,  but  of  all  classes,  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
because  its  truths  are  so  universal  that  they  reach  the  heart  of 
every  seeker  after  God,  and  meet  his  deepest  needs  in  whatever 
state  of  life  he  may  be  placed.  If  I  may  so  express  it,  the  Bible 
is  felt  to  be  the  sanest  book  ever  written. 

Secondly,  the  Prayer  Book  stands  as  the  corroborative  tes- 
timony of  the  Christian  consciousness  to  this  fact.  It  is  so 
closely  interwoven  with  Bible  teachings  that  nine-tenths  of  its 
words  are  Bible  words.  The  Prayer  Book  was  not  written  by 
any  one  man  or  generation  of  men.  It  is  the  evolution  of  the 
Christian  experience  of  the  ages.  .  .  . 

This  excellence  [of  Protestant  S.  S.  lessons]  is  purchased  by 
limitation.  Their  whole  course  of  study  is  narrowed  down  to 
the  explanation  of  the  text  of  the  Bible.  And,  however  enthu- 
siastic he  may  be  regarding  this  system,  every  churchman  recog- 
nises at  a  glance  its  great  limitations,  the  moment  he  begins 
to  confine  himself  to  it.  The  study  of  the  doctrines  and  whole 
history  of  the  Church   (the   Divine  Society  ordained   by  Christ 

1  First  Principles  First,  A  Pastoral  (1903),  pp.  1-5. 


344  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

Himself)  are  left  out.  The  systematized  study  of  God's  moral 
law  is  left  out;  definite  education  in  God's  social  law  is  left 
out;  so  much,  in  fact,  is  left  out  that  the  children  brought  up 
under  this  system  only  receive  a  onesided  religious  education, 
and  consequently  are  not  adequately  prepared  to  meet  those 
practical  life  duties,  which  face  all  Christians  in  the  world,  after 
they  grow  up  to  manhood  or  womanhood. 

If  we  follow  the  spirit  of  the  Bible  and  of  that  Prayer  Book 
(which  is  the  Church's  own  interpretation  of  Bible  teaching), 
then  we  have  a  many-sided  religious  education  to  inculcate,  and 
consequently  a  much  more  difficult  task  before  us  than  that  of 
any  other  Christian  body  that  I  know  of.  Yet  I  feel  that  the 
ground  can  be  covered,  and  covered  successfully,  provided  we 
rise  to  the  importance  of  this  work,  follow  the  ideal  which  both 
Bible  and  Prayer  Book  hold  up  before  us,  labour  as  with  one 
heart  and  one  mind,  along  this  line,  adapt  our  teachings  to  the 
development  of  the  child's  life  and  make  our  system  of  educa- 
tion so  elastic  that  while  all  cling  to  the  same  ideal,  there  is 
room  for  different  modes  of  development. 

Shortly  before  the  veteran  Bishop  R.  H.  Wilmer  of 
Alabama  died,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Bishop  Satterlee  on 
the  relation  of  the  Bible  to  the  untutored,  which  is  a 
classic: 

FROM   BISHOP   WILMER 

February  1st,  igoo.  —  I  wish  to  give  you  some  thoughts  that 
have  weighed  upon  me  for  some  time  —  thoughts,  which  I 
have  given  only  to  yourself  and  Bishop  Doane  —  because  of 
your  respective  influential  positions  —  Excuse  brevity. 

[The  letter  proceeds  to  picture  in  unvarnished  language  the 
primitive  conditions  of  life  and  thought  obtaining  among  the 
negroes,  and  the  peril  of  giving  them  free  access  to  the  crude 
moral  and  social  conditions  depicted  in  the  narrative  portions 
of  the  Old  Testament.] 

Ignorant  of  moral  and  social  evolution,  not  understanding 
that  "the  ignorance  of  those  times  God  winked  at,  but  now  com- 
manded! all  men  everywhere  to  repent,"  they  are  perfectly 
satisfied  to  be  as  good  as  their  father,  "Abraham"   &c. 

I  never  took  any  stock  in  the  "Bible  Society"  —  Nations 
were  converted  by  the  "foolishness  of  preaching"  —  Oh  that  the 
preaching  of  foolishness  might  cease!  —  before  the  art  of  print- 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  345 

ing  was  invented,  the  Queen  of  Ethiopia's  Treasurer  was  in  a 
sad  plight  over  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  until  the  Deacon  took  his 
seat  by  his  side  in  the  chariot. 

Now,  my  suggestion  is  that  the  "Church"  should  publish 
the  ''New  Testament,"  with  selecl:  devotional  Psalms  and  cir- 
culate it. 

I  would  give  publicity  to  my  views,  but  for  the  facl:,  that,  in 
view  of  the  many  unwise  publications  of  sundry  of  our  Bishops 
in  their  old  age,  I  made  a  resolution,  some  years  ago,  that  I 
would  not  publish  anything,  divergent  from  commonly  accepted 
thought,  after  I  had  passed  fourscore  years  of  life. 

Upon  this  point,  I  could  a  tale  unfold.  One  of  our  wisest 
Bishops,  at  seventy  years  of  age,  published  a  book  —  "Rem- 
iniscences of  two  beloved  wives."  When  he  gave  me  a  copy, 
he  said:  —  "I  wrote  this  ten  years  ago,  and  meant  to  leave  it 
in  manuscript  for  my  family,  but  I  have  concluded  to  publish 
it,  that  it  may  do  some  good  while  I  am  living."  It  was  a  very 
foolish  thing  for  the  Press  —  told  how  his  one  wife  kissed  him 
on  return  from  visitation  —  how  the  other  made  his  breeches 
—  by-the-bye,  the  weakest  part  of  his  costume,  making  him 
look  bowlegged. 

I  said  to  him  — "Bishop,  I  would  not  at  seventy  reverse  a 
decision  formed   at  sixty. 

One  other  matter  —  I  cannot  get  the  good  old  tra&s  such 
as,  "Didymus'  Daughter;"  "Tis  all  for  the  best,"  etc.  The 
modern  trad  reminds  me  of  a  skeleton,  holding  out  its  long 
arms.  The  trads  that  I  want  represent  the  mother  folding  her 
children  to  her  bosom.  "The  American  TracT:  Society'1  pub- 
lishes them,  but  eliminates  the  Churchly  parts. 

Well,  my  good  brother,  pardon  this  wearisome  infliclion  — 
impute  it  to  dotage  —  whatever  may  seem  to  be  behind  the 
times.     A  blessed  New  Year  to  you  and  yours. 

Apparently  it  escaped  his  memory  that  he  had  written 
the  letter,  for  a  month  or  so  later  he  wrote  another 
equally  racy.  The  "preaching  of  foolishness"  was  evi- 
dently on  his  mind: 

I  was  thinking  the  other  night  of  how  it  was  that  Saul  of 
Tarsus,  whose  early  life  was  full  of  malignity,  became  the 
Apostle   Paul  and  ended  his  sublime  life  with  that  declaration: 


346  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

"I  have  fought  a  good  fight  etc."  I  turned  to  the  Epistle  for 
Sexagesima  Sunday  and  found  how  often  he  had  received  "forty 
stripes  save  one" —  and  I  thought  that  something  of  this  kind 
would  be  a  benefit  to  some  of  the  preachers  of  our  day  —  giving 
them  forty  not  "save  one."  Do  you  not  think  that  something 
of  that  kind  is  needed  to  put  an  end  to  the  "preaching  of 
foolishness"  and  substitute  therefor  the  apostolic  idea  of  the 
"foolishness  of  preaching"? 

With  all  the  passion  for  Christ  that  prompts  the 
world-wide  sowing  of  the  Scriptures,  the  bluntly  and 
humorously  expressed  opinion  of  Bishop  Wilmer  finds  an 
echo  in  many  unprejudiced  and  reverent  minds  —  "The 
one  thing/'  says  a  modern  writer,  that  the  Bible  Society 
"does  not  help  forward,  unless  it  be  unconsciously,  is  the 
proportion  of  the  Faith,  and  the  clear  light  and  true 
knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God."  * 

Bishop  Satterlee  stood  for  limited  dogma  with  ample 
room  for  reverent  speculation  on  the  part  of  the  indi- 
vidual. But  he  was  rigid  and  uncompromising  as  to  the 
degree  and  character  of  doctrine  as  laid  down  in  the 
Prayer  Book  formulae,  and  embedded  in  the  compelling 
theology  of  the  Church's  liturgical  worship.  He,  like 
many  of  us  who  learned  by  heart  (good  old  phrase!)  the 
Catechism  at  so  early  an  age  that  we  cannot  exactly 
remember  when,  valued  its  teachings  at  high  worth. 
He  advocated  its  being  memorized  by  young  children  on 
the  score  that  it  would  in  later  years  be  as  armor  in  the 
day  of  battle,  a  theory  which  the  modern  philosophy  of 
the  subconscious,  or  unconscious  fully,  justifies.  "I  once 
taught  the  Catechism  to  a  little  child,"  he  says,  "and  it 
learned  the  whole,  word  for  word,  before  it  was  six  years 
old."  As  to  the  two  articles  of  the  Creed  which  of  late 
years  have  been  under  fire,  the  Virgin  Birth  and  the 
Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  he  was,  as  a  noted  fellow 
Bishop  once  expressed  himself  of  the  former  of  the  two, 
"almost  fanatical."  The  Apostles'  Creed  was  to  him 
signed    and    sealed    by    the    Spirit    of   God    through    the 

1  God's  Co-operative  Society,  by  C.  L.  Marson,  pp.  36,  37. 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  347 

witness  of  the  Christian  centuries.  To  assail  any  one 
article  was  to  attack  the  whole. 

In  his  pastorals  and  other  writings  during  his  episco- 
pate, Bishop  Satterlee  appeals  for  loyalty  to  the  Prayer 
Book  teaching  on  prayer,  fasting  and  almsgiving. 

His  Advent  Pastoral  to  the  clergy  of  the  Diocese, 
1904,  is  devoted  to  the  subject  of  prayer: 

Negligence  in  prayer  is  more  than  a  symptom  of  wrong;  it 
is  a  proof  that  we  do  not  believe  to  the  full  in  the  words  and 
promises  of  Jesus  Christ.  How  the  earnest  example  of  active 
men  of  the  world  in  a  lower  sphere  shames  our  inertia  and  luke- 
warmness.  The  children  of  this  world,  the  business  men  of 
Wall  Street,  the  self-made  men  all  over  America,  preach  a  liv- 
ing sermon  to  the  children  of  light  by  their  robust  and  ener- 
gizing faith.  Without  "credit'3  they  can  do  nothing.  If  we 
only  had  the  same  strong  faith  in  the  power  of  prayer  that 
capitalists  and  laborers  have  in  the  power  of  money,  our  faith 
would  override  all  the  obstacles  which  now  hold  us  back.  Such 
men  in  the  pursuit  of  money  are  willing  to  sacrifice  ease,  and 
to  train  themselves  into  habits  of  punctuality,  self-discipline, 
self-denial;  they  become  very  systematic;  they  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  their  pains  and  aches,  their  moods  and  feelings;  they  are 
instant  in  season  and  out  of  season;  until  they  attain  their 
object.  Thus  should  it  be  with  us  of  the  clergy  in  our  spiritual 
efforts.  If  one  would  gain  the  prize  which  Christ  holds  out  to 
those  who  pray,  he  must  learn  to  pray  in  Christ's  own  way. 

Bishop  Wilson,  the  author  of  Sacra  Privata,  has  well  said, 
"There  is  no  education  equal  to  that  of  continuous  prayer." 
And  is  not  this,  above  all  others,  the  kind  of  education 
which  we  of  the  Clergy  need?  If  Christ  puts  the  power  of 
prayer  among  the  highest  and  greatest  of  all  powers,  ought 
not  we  to  make  the  possession  of  this  power  the  chief  aim  of 
our  lives?  If  business  men  become  experts  by  disciplining  them- 
selves —  morning,  noon  and  night  —  to  gain  the  power  of 
money,  ought  we  not  to  become  experts  in  a  higher  sphere, 
putting  forth  an  effort,  which,  to  say  the  least,  is  equally  stren- 
uous, to  attain  the  power  which  comes  with  prayer?  And  if, 
in  this  age  of  the  world,  secularism  is  on  the  increase,  unbelief  is 
on  the  increase,  and  that  covetousness,  "which  is  idolatry,"  is 
on  the  increase,  can  we  of  the  Clergy  make  our  lives  as  valuable 


348  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

in  any  other  way,  to  God  and  the  Church,  as  by  living  that 
life  of  faith  of  which  prayer  is  the  very  breath  and  heart-beat? 
But  observe,  a  habit  of  prayer  cannot  be  attained  without 
persistent  effort.  The  education  of  the  spiritual  life  demands 
the  same  kind  of  concentration  and  attention  that  intellectual 
education  requires,  and  it  calls  for  no  less  exertion  of  will-power, 
in  overcoming  indolence  or  inertia.  Our  spiritual  faculties,  like 
our  mental  ones,  are  only  developed  by  constant  exercise.  One 
can  only  strengthen  his  weak  will  by  constant  dependence  on 
God,  as  he  learns  to  discipline  himself  and  his  very  thoughts. 
Prayer  is  the  hardest  kind  of  work. 

Though  the  Prayer  Book  contains  no  explicit  order 
directing  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer  to  be  said  daily, 
the  ideal  is  unmistakable  —  "the  order  for  Daily  Morn- 
ing and  Evening  Prayer'  is  not  equivocal  or  ambiguous. 
Bishop  Satterlee  speaks  from  ripe  experience  when  he 
says: 

The  older  I  grow  the  more  I  realize  what  an  enormous  help 
the  Church  has  provided  for  her  Clergy  in  this  exercise  by  her 
offices  of  Daily  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer.  Though  very 
few  can  have  daily  services  in  the  Church,  many  of  us  could 
say  either  Morning  or  Evening  Prayer  in  our  own  homes,  with 
our  families  and  our  servants  about  us.  In  these  days  when 
the  laity  are  giving  up  family  prayer,  it  becomes  all  the  more 
necessary  that  the  clergy  should  set  the  example  of  erecting 
the  family  altar.  The  influence  of  Matins  and  Evensong,  with 
their  alternations  of  penitence  and  praise,  of  supplication  and 
thanksgiving,  and  the  lessons  from  Psalter  and  Holy  Scripture, 
have  an  incalculable  power  in  moulding  character  and  bringing 
a  benison  upon  every  member  of  the  household. 

In  a  "Lenten  Pastoral  to  the  Churchmen  and  Church- 
women  of  the  Diocese'  he  takes  up  the  duty  of  observing 
the  Church's  fasts  "on  which  the  Church  requires  such 
a  measure  of  abstinence  as  is  more  especially  suited 
to  extraordinary  acts  and  exercises  of  devotion.'3  The 
principle,  according  to  the  Prayer  Book  system,  is  clearly 
in  positive  and  rational  terms;  the  method  of  personal 
application  is  left  to  the  individual: 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  349 

The  Church  in  her  Prayer  Book  solemnly  "requires"  a  con- 
scientious observance  of  Lent  among  all  those  with  whom  her 
voice  has  any  influence. 

Observe,  however,  that  in  so  doing  the  Church  appeals  to 
our  reason  and  our  conscience.  She  does  not  prescribe  fasting 
for  the  mere  sake  of  fasting,  but  as  a  means  to  an  end.  Neither 
does  she  give  any  set  rules  regarding  the  way  in  which  the  Lenten 
Fast  is  to  be  observed.  All  this  is  left  by  her  to  our  own 
consciences.  She  simply  calls  upon  us  to  practice  "such  a 
measure  of  abstinence"  as,  in  our  own  judgment,  "is  suited  to 
extraordinary  acts  and  exercises  of  devotion." 

This  is  the  New  Testament  way.  Christ,  in  the  Gospel 
lays  down  no  rules  for  holy  living:  He  simply  sets  forth  the 
principles  on  which  His  religion  is  founded,  and  the  conditions 
under  which,  alone,  growth  in  grace  and  the  knowledge  of  Him 
are  possible. 

An  early  Lenten  Pastoral  (1897)  is  devoted  to  the 
principle  of  Christian  giving.  It  is  all  too  easy  for  an 
administrator  with  salaries  to  provide,  and  institutions  to 
support,  to  emphasize  getting  rather  than  giving,  and  to 
rest  content  with  securing  financial  support,  without  more 
than  a  passing  glance  at  the  means  employed  to  this 
end.  It  was  otherwise  with  Bishop  Satterlee.  After  the 
example  of  St.  Paul  he  could  say  in  the  face  of  serious 
anxieties  over  the  business  side  of  the  Church's  life: 
"Not  that  I  seek  for  the  gift;  but  I  seek  for  the  fruit 
that  increaseth  to  your  account."  1  In  a  paragraph 
written  a  few  weeks  before  his  death  2  he  says:  "We  shall 
be  grateful  for  any  suggestions,  coming  from  any  source, 
as  to  how  the  necessary  funds  may  be  raised,  provided 
that  no  method  shall  be  recommended  which  tends  to 
the  lowering  of  the  Cathedral  Ideal  itself.  In  the  New 
Testament  we  are  reminded  that  the  eye  of  God  rests 
not  only  upon  the  offering  but  upon  the  motive  of  the 
offerer,   and  that  'The  gift   without  the   giver  is    bare.' 

It  is  the  principle  of  stewardship  that  forms  the  basis 
of  the  pastoral  on  giving: 

1  Phil.  iv.  17.  2  Hand  Book  of  Washington  Cathedral,  5th  Edition,  p.  6. 


350  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

There  is  one  subject  which  I  particularly  desire  to  bring 
before  you,  and  that  is  the  duty  of  Christian  giving  as  a  part 
of  our  service  to  God. 

The  only  rule  prescribed  in  the  New  Testament  about  Chris- 
tian giving  is  the  following  direction  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Church 
of  Corinth: 

"Now  concerning  the  collection  for  the  saints,  as  I  have 
given  order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia,  even  so  do  ye.  Upon 
the  first  day  of  the  week  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in 
store,  as  God  hath  prospered  him,  that  no  gatherings  (collections) 
be  made  when  I  come."     I.  Cor.  XVI.   I,  2. 

It  will  be  seen  here  that  St.  Paul  strongly  emphasizes  the 
principle  of  systematic  giving.  In  our  modern  days,  eloquent 
appeals  to  our  interest  and  our  sympathy  in  the  work  of  the 
Church  are  made  from  time  to  time,  and  money  is  raised  under 
the  influence  of  such  appeals.  This  method  is  undoubtedly 
necessary  at  times,  but  it  is  not  apostolic;  and  if  you  ponder 
carefully  and  prayerfully  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  you  will  see 
for  yourselves  that  the  systematic  and  conscientious  laying 
apart  of  a  certain  proportion  of  our  income  for  the  spread  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  on  this  earth  is  the  only  adequate  way  of 
meeting  our  Christian  obligations. 

Systematic  giving  is  but  a  happy  phrase  coined  to 
denote  the  reality  of  giving  as  an  integral  part  of  practical 
religion,  as  necessary  as  prayer  and  fasting.  He  suggests 
the  tithe  as  a  starting  point  or  minimum  offering  to  God, 
and  quotes  Mai.  Ill,  8-10  in  a  semi-pragmatic  manner  in 
support  of  his  contention  —  it  has  been  proved  by 
experience  that  it  brings  a  blessing  to  give  and  to  give 
cheerfully,  therefore  give. 

The  magnificence  of  the  two  great  Sacraments,  Baptism 
and  the  Eucharist,  was  exalted  by  the  depth  and  large- 
ness of  his  vision.  Baptism  was  not  merely  an  initial 
rite.  It  was  the  conferring  upon  the  person  baptized  of 
a  dignity  so  wonderful,  that  all  else  in  life  was  but  an 
unfolding  and  supplement  of  the  fact  of  sonship  in  Christ 
therein  bestowed.  It  was  because  he  rated  the  priesthood 
of  the  laity  at  so  high  a  value,  that  he  did  not  overesti- 
mate   the    position    of   the    ministerial    priesthood    in    its 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  351 

relation  to  the  commonwealth  of  priests  and  kings,  which 
make  up  God's  Kingdom  among  men.  He  was  deeply 
impressed  by  the  late  Dr.  Moberly's  works  x  which  gave 
expression  to  and  confirmed  his  own  profound  con- 
victions. Bishop  Satterlee  was  an  aristocrat  by  inherit- 
ance and  taste:  but  he  was  a  Christian  democrat  by 
convidlion  and  the  grace  of  God.  His  belief  in  the 
brotherhood  of  the  baptized  made  him  the  comrade-leader 
that  he  aimed  to  be,  so  that  it  could  be  said  of  him  by  a 
close  associate: 

I  suppose  few  ministers  of  our  Church,  whether  as  priests  or 
bishops,  have  drawn  about  them  a  more  ardent,  trustful, 
devoted,  tireless,  self-sacrificing  band  of  followers  and  helpers 
than  did  he.  They  came  from  all  ranks  and  classes,  out  of  every 
kind  of  circumstance.  He  kept  them  close  beside  him.  He 
took  them  frankly  into  all  his  counsels.  He  made  them  not  his 
servants,  but  his  friends.  And  they  depended  on  him  for  sug- 
gestion, inspiration,  guidance,  training.  Their  lives  seemed 
almost  to  revolve  about  his  own.  His  loss  must  bring  to  them, 
over  and  above  their  grief,  bewilderment,  blankness,  disloca- 
tion. And  yet  I  would  venture  to  believe  that  there  is  not  one 
of  them  who,  through  his  Bishop,  has  not  learned  a  higher  loy- 
alty than  that  which  he  so  gladly  rendered  him,  not  one  of  them 
who  did  not  come  to  understand,  who  does  not  now  remember, 
that  faithfulness  to  his  loved  leader  can  be  proved  and  measured 
only  by  faithfulness  to  Christ.  That  was  the  way  he  used  his 
gift  of  power  and  of  light.  That  was  the  way  God  used  him 
in  his  ministry,  —  shining  in  his  heart  that  men  should  learn, 
as  they  did  learn,  through  him  of  Christ.2 

The  Cathedral  Font  which  his  reverent,  sacramental 
mind  dreamed  into  being,  with  its  lining  of  stones 
gathered  from  the  River  Jordan  at  the  ford  where  tradi- 
tion says  our  Lord  was  baptized,  and  its  central  figure 
of  the  risen  Christ,  bears  witness  to  his  regard  for  the 
Church's  foundation  rite.  "This  figure  of  Christ  stands 
on  a  rock,  out  of  which  the  waters  of  baptism  flow,  thus 

1  Personality  and  the  Atonement,  and  The  Ministerial  Priesthood. 

2  Bishop  Rhine-lander's  In  Memoriam,  p.  io. 


352  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

providing  for  flowing,  that  is  living,  water,  which  was  so 
continuously  emphasized  by  the  Primitive  Church. " * 
This  idea  of  flowing  or  living  water  seems  to  be  (some- 
what obscurely)  preserved  in  the  rubric,  which  provides 
that  the  font  "is  then/'  at  the  moment  of  baptism,  "to 
be  filled  with  pure  water." 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  Bishop's  loyalty  to  the  Prayer 
Book  that  provision  is  made  for  immersion  in  the  Cathe- 
dral Font: 

No  baptismal  fonts,  large  enough  for  immersion,  have  been 
built  since  the  rise  of  Christian  art,  and  this  Font  stands  as  a 
witness  to  the  right  of  every  Christian  to  have  the  sacrament 
administered  by  immersion  as  well  as  by  pouring,  as  provided 
by  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.2 

He  loved  to  dwell  on  the  thought  that  "the  first  stone 
of  the  coming  Cathedral  was  the  stone  altar/5  "hewn/3 
as  the  inscription  on  the  brass  tablet  records,  "from 
the  rocks  outside  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  from  which  the 
stones  of  the  Temple  were  quarried,  not  far  from  the 
place  which  is  called  Calvary.'3  To  him  the  Holy  Com- 
munion meant  more  and  more  up  to  the  moment  of  his 
viaticum.  With  all  the  joyousness  bound  up  with  the 
eucharistic  thought  there  was  the  responsibility  of  added 
fruitfulness  in  the  Communicant's  life. 

Those  who  obey  the  call  of  Christ  will  live  as  Christians  lived 
in  New  Testament  times;  they  will  be  blessed  as  the  New 
Testament  Christians  were  blessed;  they  will  know  the  love  of 
Christ  which  passeth  knowledge;  they  will  gain  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ. 

Communicants  of  the  Church  should  be  satisfied  with  noth- 
ing less  than  the  complete  surrender  of  their  wills  to  Christ,  for 
they  cannot  keep  their  spiritual  union  with  Him,  if  they  lower 
His  own  standard  of  the  Christian  life.3 

1  Handbook  of  the  Washington  Cathedral,  p.  37. 

2  "And  then,  naming  it  after  them,  he  shall  dip  it  in  the  water  discreetly,  or 
shall  pour  water  upon  it."     Rubric  in  Baptismal  Office. 

3  Preface  to  Communicants'  Fellowship  in  the  Diocese  of  Washington. 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  353 

He  founded  in  the  Diocese  of  Washington,  as  in  Calvary 
Parish,  a  Communicants'  Fellowship,  as  an  aid  to  those 
who  by  the  pledge  of  the  Eucharist  bound  themselves  to 
the  Christ  life.  With  his  wonted  respect  for  the  rights 
of  the  individual  and  with  a  view  to  developing  the  sense 
of  personal  responsibility,  he  avoided  rules  and  laid  stress 
on  principles.  The  Fellowship  aims  were  promoted  by  a 
number  of  "  suggestions." 

There  is  nothing  obligatory  in  any  of  them.  They  are  not 
intended  to  interfere  with  that  Christian  liberty  which  belongs 
to  the  Sons  of  God,  or  to  fetter  in  any  way,  the  freedom  which 
both  Holy  Scripture  and  our  Prayer  Book  maintain.  Among 
these  suggestions,  there  are  some  which  many  communicants 
will  be  debarred  by  circumstances  (want  of  time,  for  example) 
from  following.  Again,  one  suggestion  will  be  helpful  to  one 
communicant,  another  to  another.  Let  every  man  be  fully  per- 
suaded in  his  own  mind  (Romans  xiv,  5,  6)  and  ad  according 
to  the  diclates  of  his  own  reason  and  conscience. 

Bishop  Satterlee  was  jealous  and  sensitive  as  to  his 
churchmanship.  The  phrase  which  best  served  to  de- 
scribe his  position  was  "New  Testament  churchman- 
ship" —  New  Testament  churchmanship  as  unequivo- 
cally positively  and  amply  interpreted  and  set  forth  in 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  Cavour  said:  "There  are 
times  for  compromises  and  there  are  times  for  decided 
policies.  I  believe  that  there  is  neither  in  history  nor  in 
statesmanship  any  absolute  maxim.  If  ever  the  time  for 
a  resolute  policy,  and  not  for  compromise,  shall  come,  I 
shall  be  the  first  to  adopt  it;  because  I  feel  that  I  am 
by  character  more  inclined  to  it.  But  the  wisdom  of  the 
statesman  lies  in  discerning  when  the  time  has  come  for 
one  or  the  other.,!  Bishop  Satterlee's  nature  was  in 
some  directions  an  unbending  one.  Like  Cavour,  he 
temperamentally  favored  an  absolute  policy.  The  very 
word  compromise,  to  which  a  sinister  meaning  that  it 
does  not  invariably  deserve  has  been  attached,  the  mere 
suggestion  of  opportunism  roused  his  antagonism.     Never- 


354  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

theless  no  man  could  have  more  earnestly  desired  than 
he  to  understand  the  viewpoint  of  those  who  differed 
from  him.  Stubborn  to  a  fault  where  his  inmost  con- 
victions were  concerned,  his  trained  sense  of  Christian 
sympathy  saved  him  from  wrecking  his  gift  of  leadership 
on  the  rock  of  self-assertion  that  would  not  brook  opposi- 
tion. For  so  strong  a  man,  his  mode  of  attack  when  he 
had  to  fight  against  convinced  opposition,  was  on  the 
whole  commendably  considerate.  The  notable  feature 
of  his  position  was  its  constructive  character.  He  was 
always  building,  building,  building.  He  had  uncon- 
querable tenacity,  and  he  achieved  his  aim  rather  by  a 
steady,  glacier-like  pressure  than  by  gusts  of  effort. 

To  him  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  represented  a 
great  living  force,  loyal  devotion  to  which  carried  with  it 
sufficient  justification  in  that  it  brought  forth  much 
fruit.  The  via  media  was  not  desirable  as  being  safe  or 
conservative  or  comfortable  but  because  it  was  the  most 
potent.  He  was  ready  to  accept  the  comprehension  of 
the  Church  within  clearly  defined  limits  and  to  be  mag- 
nanimous to  any  who  widely  differed  from  him,  provided 
they  did  not  flout  his  interpretation  of  loyalty.  If  he 
was  not  just  to  broad  churchmen  it  was  because  he  never 
quite  understood,  and  so  was  unable  to  think  in  the  terms 
of,  their  metaphysic. 

The  Apostolic  and  Catholic  Faith  as  expressed  in  the  creed 
and  the  worship  of  the  Church  was  not  with  him  a  precious 
formula  of  doArine  to  be  upheld  but,  as  St.  Paul  says,  a  world 
into  which  he  had  been  delivered  and  which  he  knew  was  shap- 
ing his  charader.  It  was  a  life  rather  than  dogma,  convidion 
rather  than  speculation. 

It  was  not  often  that  his  gentle  spirit  could  be  stirred  into 
wrath,  but  interference  with  any  part  of  that  Faith  which  he 
knew  had  made  him  what  he  was  always  provoked  an  indig- 
nant surprise.  On  the  foundation  of  that  Faith  which  the 
Anglican  Church  held,  he  stood  firm  accepting  with  heart  and 
soul  the  entirety  of  its  doctrine.  And  this  is  not  only  because 
it  satisfied  his  reason  and  was  the  support  of  his  life,  but  because 
it  was  based  on  historic  facl. 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  355 

Certain  events  had  taken  place  so  many  centuries  ago,  and 
they  were  the  foundation  stones  of  the  Faith. 

So  to  him  the  historic  links  with  many  an  age  and  clime 
which  he  sought  with  such  ingenuous  pains  were  not  simply  mat- 
ters of  antiquarian  interest,  but  perpetual  reminders  of  the 
fads  in  which  he  hoped  to  rest.1 

It  is  no  easy  thing  for  a  man,  even  in  our  day  of  close 
international  relationships  and  comprehensive  religious 
thought,  to  be  an  ardent  nationalist  and  an  unfeigned 
lover  and  servant  of  mankind.  Side  by  side  with  the 
extensive  there  has  been  going  on  a  more  than  counter- 
balancing intensive  movement  which,  as  the  Great  War 
testifies,  has  balked  for  the  moment  and  in  intention  and 
effort  annihilated,  the  dream  and  scheme  of  universal 
brotherhood  which  formed  the  motive  power  of  inter- 
nationalism. With  prophetic  instincl  Lord  Adlon  saw 
the  trend  of  affairs  and  rushed  to  the  opposite  extreme, 
contending  that  "the  theory  of  nationality  is  more 
absurd  and  more  criminal  than  the  theory  of  socialism."  2 

Bishop  Satterlee  was  an  ardent  nationalist  from  the 
time  when  as  a  lad  he  wished  to  buckle  on  armor  in 
defence  of  the  Union  up  to  the  moment  of  his  death. 
Patriotism  and  the  desire  to  serve  the  country  in  the 
centre  of  its  political  life  helped  powerfully  to  bring  him 
to  Washington.  Next  to  the  Church  he  held  the  Nation 
to  be  the  greatest  organism  on  earth  for  the  expression 
of  God's  purpose  for  men.  The  Nation  to  him  was  only 
less  Divine  than  the  Church.  It  was  a  real  sphere  of 
God's  operation.  Citizenship  or  nationality  was  a  gift 
from  above.  But  in  itself  it  was  insufficient.  It  needed 
the  Church  to  give  it  full  meaning  and  power. 

A  firm  believer  in  religious  liberty,  he  was  always 
contriving  some  new  way  in  which  to  bring  Christ  to  the 
Nation.  His  reasoning  was  clear.  Nothing  could  be  more 
apparent  than  that  the  foundations  of  the  United  States 

1  From  a  Sermon  preached  in  the  Bethlehem  Chapel  on  All  Saints'  Day, 
1913  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  (Dr.  Walpole). 

2  History  of  Freedom  and  other  Essays. 


356  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

were  laid  in  religion.  All  great  states  of  the  world,  east 
and  west,  have  had  this  experience,  and  their  vitality 
waxes  and  wanes  with  the  sincerity  of  their  religious  life. 
Faith  springing  up  in  righteousness  and  seeking  sponta- 
neous ecclesiastical  expression  marked  the  course  of  the 
various  groups  of  colonists,  who  left  their  religious  homes 
not  to  escape  religion  but  to  observe  it.  We  of  a  later 
date  may  not  be  able  to  subscribe  to  the  religious  tenets  of 
Puritan  or  Quaker,  but  we  must  reproduce  their  loyalty  to 
fundamental  religious  principles  in  our  changed  conditions. 

America's  accent  was  from  the  first  laid  upon  the 
voluntary  character  of  religion.  It  must  stand  apart 
from  entangling  alliances.  As  a  society,  visible  and 
organized,  the  Church  must  be  unencumbered  by  formal 
affiliations  with  the  State.  A  free  Christianity  in  a  free 
State  was  the  principle  that  American  religion  was  built 
upon  when  the  Colonies  became  the  several  states  of  a 
nation.  Just  as  the  American  Republic  is  an  experiment 
in  voluntary  imperialism,  so  American  religion  is  an 
experiment  in  voluntary  ecclesiasticism. 

This  attitude  of  mind,  he  conceived,  does  not  imply 
that  religion  is  not  of  obligation.  America  aims  to  be 
a  religious  State,  inspiring  her  citizens  to  express  their 
religion  as  part  of  their  citizenship.  Because  the  State 
is  not  formally  allied  to  religion  it  does  not  mean  she  is 
indifferent  to  it. 

The  erection  of  the  Diocese  of  Washington  happened 
at  a  psychological  moment,  a  moment  of  transition. 
During  the  Nineteenth  Century  Washington  was  largely 
exempt  from  the  typical  temptations  and  associations  of 
a  National  Capital: 

Unlike  London,  Paris,  Berlin  or  Rome  it  was  not  a  City  to 
which  the  Government  came,  but  one  which  the  Government 
itself  created.  All  through  the  last  century  it  grew  with  the 
growth  of  that  Government.  Its  moral  and  social  atmosphere 
came  from  the  breath  of  our  American  life,  in  which  relig- 
ious associations  were  intermingled.  Its  social  atmosphere  was 
marked    by   simplicity   of  life    and    courtesy   of  manners.     The 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  357 

genuine  worth  of  personal  character  was  appreciated.  Men  of 
intelligence  and  integrity  were  respected,  and  women  of  refine- 
ment were  valued,  whatever  their  outward  circumstances  might 
be;  the  criterion  of  excellence  lay  in  what  men  were,  not  in 
what  they  possessed. 

In  the  passing  from  the  nineteenth  to  the  twentieth  century, 
our  country  suddenly  assumed  an  international  position,  and 
the  tone  of  Washington  life  is  insensibly  becoming  less  natural, 
and  more  artificial.  The  beautiful  simplicity  of  social  aim  and 
social  life,  which  characterised  the  Washington  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  is  now  becoming  stigmatized  as  "  homespun 
provincialism,"  and  social  conditions  are  rapidly  changing  from 
what  they  were.  New  cosmopolitan  influences  are  crowding 
out  the  principles  and  lowering  the  standard  of  the  past.  A 
new  type  of  residents  is  gathering  in  Washington,  who,  while 
they  bring  wealth,  magnificence  and  luxury  to  the  Capital  of 
the  country,  are,  as  a  rule,  actuated  by  no  sense  of  civic,  moral 
or  religious  obligation  regarding  the  welfare  of  the  community, 
and  it  is  a  very  serious  question,  whether  the  material  advan- 
tages that  they  bring  are  any  compensation  for  the  atmosphere 
of  careless  irresponsibility  which  they  create.  The  result  was 
the  building  up  of  a  society  destitute  of  moral  aims.  There  is 
no  counteracting  influence  for  good  in  the  daily  life  of  the  com- 
monwealth. Washington  is  not  a  commercial  city,  manufactur- 
ing or  business  centre;  and  it  is  not  yet  become  an  educational 
centre.  It  is  indeed  a  great  political  centre,  but  its  best  states- 
men and  politicians  are  chiefly  non-residents,  who  cannot  be 
expected  to  exercise,  with  their  families,  the  same  kind  of  con- 
servative influence  in  Washington,  that  they  wield  in  their 
native  city  or  State.  The  whole  burden  of  this,  in  consequence, 
falls  upon  Washingtonians  themselves,  and  they  must  by  them- 
selves and  by  their  own  public  spirit,  form  the  conservative 
power  which  protects  the  best  life  of  the  Capital  of  the  Nation 
with  its  traditions.  History  shows  that  no  influence  in  the 
past,  in  preserving  all  that  is  best  and  noblest  in  social  life  can 
equal  that  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  has  been  "the  salt  of 
the  earth. "     Here  then  is  our  opportunity." 

Two  things  in  the  Church  life  of  his  Diocese  he  longed 
for,   prayed   over   and    planned    for.     The   first   was   local 

1  Diocesan  'Journal,  1904,  pp.  38-40. 


358  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

spiritual  health,  in  which  the  mystical  should  assume  ade- 
quate form  in  the  ethical.  Probably  no  Bishop  ever 
strove  more  earnestly  for  this  end.  His  preaching  had 
it  as  a  perpetual  theme.  He  appropriated  a  current 
epigrammatic  saying,  a  saying  of  doubtful  character 
unless  embedded  in  a  wise  context,  —  "The  greatest 
spiritual  need  of  these  days  is  not  for  more  Christians 
but  for  better  Christians"  —  as  expressing  his  mind  upon 
the  value  of  intensive  spiritual  work,  which  he  aimed  to 
promote  in  the  Communicants'  Fellowship  already  alluded 
to.  The  communicants  of  the  church  ipso  faclo  were  a 
fellowship.  The  Eucharist  was  "a  sacrament  of  the 
highest  brotherhood  known  to  man."  It  was  "not  only 
a  service  but  a  meeting."  "From  the  divine  inspiration 
of  this  service"  participants  "will  go  forth  to  their 
accustomed  places  in  other  meetings,  not  merely  of  this 
or  that  organization,  but  as  a  detail  of  the  communicants 
of  the  parish."  1  There  is  but  one  Church  fellowship  in  the 
ultimate  analysis  and  that  is  the  Church.  The  rest  — 
the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew,  the  Woman's  Auxiliary, 
the  Girls'  Friendly  Society,  etc.  —  were  human,  modern, 
transitory.  As  far  as  they  were  effective,  they  were  so 
as  special  details  for  communicants  who  found  some 
voluntary  grouping  serviceable  in  working  out  their 
Christian  vocation.  The  real  unifying,  inspiring  force 
beneath  so-called  Church  societies  was  the  Sacrament 
of  Fellowship  which  united  all  in  the  one  Loaf.2  This, 
then,  was  the  first  of  the  two  ideals  which  he  cherished 
for  his  Diocese  —  that  its  inner  life  should  flow  deep  and 
strong.  The  intensive  did  not  weaken  the  extensive. 
It  would  have  probably  expressed  his  mind  better  had  he 
said,  "better  Christians  that  there  may  be  more  Chris- 
tians," instead  of,  "not  more  Christians  but  better 
Christians." 

The  second  thing  was  that  the  strategic  value  of  the 
Diocese  of  Washington  for  the  whole  Church  should  be 
recognized   and   used.     Bishop   Satterlee  did  not  lose  his 

1  The  Calling  of  the  Christian,  p.  52,  footnote.  2  /  Cor.  x.  77,  margin. 


THE  BUILDER'S  SQUARE  AND  RULE  359 

head  because  he  was  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Capital  See. 
He  was  too  much  imbued  with  the  democratic  elements 
of  Christianity  to  aspire  to  be  a  Hildebrand.  His 
temperament  as  well  as  his  religious  convictions  made 
him  duly  cautious  of  centralization.  But  he  felt  that  the 
recognized  system  of  government  in  our  Church  would 
suffer  from  arrested  development  unless  she  were  true 
throughout  to  her  analogue  the  nation.  The  See  at  the 
seat  of  national  government  should  have  a  national 
character.  Probably  no  one  would  dispute  the  conten- 
tion except  for  the  unbalanced  application  of  the  principle 
in  past  centuries.  The  American  mind,  even  of  the 
Hamiltonian  order,  is  apt  to  shy,  not  always  rationally, 
at  anything  that  suggests  ultimate  centralization.  Bishop 
Satterlee  recognized  this  but  held  his  course  steadily  and 
discreetly.  His  plan  for  the  National  Cathedral  which 
embodied  his  idea  of  the  position  to  be  held  by  the 
Capital  See  quieted  the  fears  of  those  who  cherished 
secret  apprehensions,  and  kindled  the  imagination  of  the 
whole  Church.  He  looked  toward  sharing  with,  rather 
than  dominating  over,  his  brethren  in  the  episcopate. 
He  thought  in  all  probability  in  the  course  of  time  there 
would  be  development  along  the  line  of  his  idea,  but  was 
content  with  laying  foundations  and  committing  them  to 
the  safekeeping  of  the  God  under  whose  promptings  they 
were  laid.  It  was  because  the  National  Capital  was 
becoming  that  which  he  described  in  the  above  quotation, 
that  he  looked  for  a  way  in  which  to  concentrate  the 
power  of  the  Church  at  large  upon  its  problems. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  1 

Thou  in  the  daily  building  of  the  tower. 

Whether  in  fiercest  and  sudden  spasms  of  toil, 

Or  through  dim  lulls  of  unapparent  growth, 

Or  when  the  general  work  'mid  good  acclaim 

Climbed  with  the  eye  to  cheer  the  architecl, 

Didst  ne'er  engage  in  work  for  mere  work's  sake  — 

Had'st  ever  in  thy  heart  the  luring  hope 

Of  some  eventual  rest  atop  of  it, 

Whence,  all  the  tumult  of  the  building  hushed, 

Thou  first  of  men  might' st  look  out  to  the  east. 

The  vulgar  saw  thy  tower;   thou  sawest  the  sun. 

ROBERT    BROWNING 

IN  a  letter  of  Bishop  Satterlee's  to  Dr.  Bodley  dated 
July  1 6,  1907,  we  have  a  bit  of  interesting  self- 
revelation.  The  Bishop  had  been  studying  the  plans 
which  " enthralled "  him.  Under  their  spell  he  writes: 
"Your  west  front,  like  your  interior,  inspires  me  the 
more  I  look  upon  it.  As  I  have  said  Matins  over  and 
over  again  with  the  photograph  of  the  interior  before  me, 
and  feel  as  though  I  have  said  Morning  Prayer  in  the 
Cathedral  itself;  so  I  have  stood  and  sat  in  spirit  before 
the  west  front,  repeating  to  myself  the  Jubilate  and 
Benediclus,  until  I  drank  in  the  inspiration  of  your 
theme."  He  had  the  gift  of  anticipating  that  which  was 
yet  to  come,  so  that  the  future  became  to  him  the  present. 
What  Christ  said  of  Abraham  —  "Abraham  rejoiced  to 
see  my  day.  He  saw  it  and  was  glad"  —  is  characteristic 
of  all  men  of  faith.  When  they  possess  the  ideal  and  are 
possessed  by  it  time  drops  away.     It  was  no  metaphor 

1  In  Bishop  Satterlee's  Washington  Cathedral  and  the  Working  out  of  an  Ideal 
the  author  uses  the  phrase  "the  coming  Cathedral"  —  "The  first  stone  of  the 
coming  Cathedral  was  the  stone  altar  hewn  from  the  quarries  of  Solomon." 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  361 

for  Bishop  Satterlee  to  say,  as  he  did  one  day  when  he 
was  surprised  on  his  knees  before  an  easel  holding  the 
design  of  the  interior:  "I  was  saying  my  prayers  in  the 
Cathedral. "  No  one  will  ever  be  more  really  there  in 
soul  than  he  was.  From  the  beginning  the  Cathedral 
was  to  him  a  living  fad.  All  that  was  necessary  was  to 
make  men  see  it  as  he  saw  it.     Then  it  would  be. 

If  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  personality  endowing  a 
building  with  vitality  he  did  it,  first  at  Zion,  then  at 
Calvary  and,  as  his  last  gift,  at  the  Cathedral.  Buildings 
of  no  character  in  themselves  often  seem  to  have  a  soul 
which  cannot  be  analyzed  as  much  as  felt.  Other  hands 
than  his  will  rear  the  walls  of  this  great  edifice,  but  in 
the  end  the  dominant  note  will  be  that  which  the  founder 
sounded. 

No  Cathedral  ever  built  could  duplicate  the  history  of 
the  Washington  Cathedral.  Of  course  there  never  was 
any  triumph  of  ecclesiastical  architecture  that  was  not 
the  slow  working  out  of  an  ideal.  The  Washington 
Cathedral  will  have  this  in  common  with  all  of  its  great 
predecessors.  But  was  there  ever  another  which  had  its 
Altar,  its  Font,  its  Cathedra,  its  Ambon  before  the  walls 
of  the  edifice  began  to  rise  above  the  ground?  'Before 
a  stone  of  the  Cathedral  structure  was  laid,  the  first 
care  of  the  Bishop  and  Chapter  was  to  provide  for  the 
Cathedral  worship"  —  the  Ministry  of  the  Word  and  of 
the  Sacraments  —  "according  to  the  practice  of  the 
Primitive  Church,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer."  In  the  natural  open-air  amphitheatre,  'whose 
acoustical  properties  are  so  remarkable  that  25,000 
persons  can  hear  every  word  of  the  service  and  sermon," 
with  the  sky  as  its  roof  and  the  trees  as  its  pillars,  for 
seventeen  years  the  Word  has  been  preached  with  the 
Salem,  or  pedestal  of  the  Peace  Cross,  as  pulpit. 

We  can  best  reach  the  relation  of  Bishop  Satterlee  to 
the  Cathedral  by  a  study  of  the  History  of  the  Cathedral 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  Private  Record  of  Henry  Y. 
Satterlee,    and    the    correspondence    between    himself   and 


362  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

the  Cathedral  architects.1  These  two  series  of  documents 
alone  comprise  enough  material  for  an  interesting  book. 

He  anticipated  the  possibility  of  his  Private  Record 
being  published,  and  writes  in  its  first  sentences  that  it 
"must  never  be  published  without  careful  revision.  I 
here  utter  the  solemn  charge,  if  any  parts  of  it  are  ever 
given  to  the  public,  the  selection  must  be  made  in  that 
spirit  of  charity  which  thinketh  no  evil,  which  rejoiceth 
not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth,  and  which  in 
the  eye  of  God  would  hurt  no  man's  reputation/3  With 
few  exceptions  the  manuscript  could  be  published  as  it 
stands,  so  far  as  this  injunction  is  concerned. 

It  begins  with  the  reasons  which  led  him  to  accept 
Washington: 

The  four  factors  of  consideration  which  induced  me  to  accept 
the  Bishopric  of  Washington  were,  first,  the  separation  of  the 
Church  and  State,  and  the  importance  of  creating  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  Diocese  at  the  Capital  of  the  United  States  on  this 
line;  second,  the  solution  of  the  problem  how  to  Christianize 
the  colored  people,  Washington  being  the  point  where  North 
and  South  meet;  third,  the  desire,  if  possible,  to  mould  a  small 
diocese  like  Washington  on  the  lines  of  the  primitive,  undivided 
Church,  in  such  a  way  that  it  would  promote  the  cause  of 
American  Christian  and  Church  unity  by  combining  all  the 
true  elements  of  Catholic  and  Protestant  life;  fourth,  the  im- 
portance of  making  the  Cathedral  a  centre  of  diocesan  life  and, 
if  possible,  a  witness  in  the  Capital  for  all  that  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  stands  for. 

Consultation  with  such  men  as  Bishop  Williams  of 
Connecticut,  Bishop  Doane  of  Albany,  Bishop  Paret  of 
Maryland,  Bishop  Coxe  of  Western  New  York,  Dr. 
Heman  Dyer  and  Dr.  W.  S.  Langford  confirmed  his 
position  and  deepened  his  conviction.     He  continues: 

When  I  began  to  inquire  into  the  history  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Washington,  the  following  facts  came,  from  time  to  time,  to 
my  attention.     I   do  not  give  these  in  the  chronological  order 

•>■  1  See  Appendix  I. 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     363 

in  which  I  heard  of  them,  but  give  them  in  their  own  actual 
chronological  order.  Major  L'Enfant,  the  architect  employed 
under  General  Washington  to  lay  out  the  plan  of  the  Federal 
City,  projected  a  State  Church,  to  be  built  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Patent  Office,  as  a  kind  of  American  Westminster  Ab- 
bey, yet  to  belong  to  no  denomination.1  Of  course  this  was 
impossible  in  a  land  where  Church  and  State  were  to  be  for 
ever  separate.  The  State  Church  was  never  built;  yet  here 
was  the  germ  of  the  idea  of  a  Christian  Cathedral,  and  it  slum- 
bered in  the  minds  of  Episcopalians. 

There  is  humor  lurking  beneath  the  fact  that  the 
Patent  Office  should  occupy  the  site  of  the  projected 
"American  Westminster  Abbey."  The  Patent  Office,  in 
the  light  of  its  history,  may  be  viewed  not  only  as  the 
temple  (and  tomb)  of  American  inventive  genius  but  also 
as  the  symbol  of  that  versatility,  strikingly  American, 
that  has  invented  as  curious  an  assortment  of  beliefs  as 
the  world  has  ever  seen! 

Washington  also  suggested  a  university  of  the  United  States 
in  the  Capital  of  the  country.  This  idea  took  hold  forcibly  of 
other  Christian  bodies.  Just  as  the  Baptists  started  long  ago 
their  Columbian  University,  the  Romanists  started  at  a  much 
later  day  their  Catholic  University  of  America,  the  Methodists 
still  later  their  American  University,  and  the  ladies  of  many 
Christian  bodies  are  now  projecting  their  great  National  Uni- 
versity of  the  United  States,  so  the  Churchmen  of  Washington 
have  persistently  cherished  the  ideal,  not  of  a  University,  but 
of  a  National  Cathedral. 

I  have  recently  been  told  that  about  1865,  when  the  creation 
of  the  new  Diocese  of  Washington  out  of  the  old  Diocese  of 
Maryland  was  warmly  discussed  in  and  outside  of  the  Diocesan 
Convention,  there  was  an  informal  meeting  of  the  clergymen 
and  laymen   at  St.  Alhan's  Church,  at  which  the  same  subject 

1  Major  L'Enfant  thus  described  it:  "A  Church  (to  be  creeled)  for  national 
purposes,  such  as  public  prayer,  thanksgiving,  funeral  orations,  etc.;  and  be 
assigned  to  the  special  use  of  no  particular  denomination  or  sccl;  but  to  be 
equally  open  to  all.  It  will  like  wise  be  a  shelter  for  such  monuments  as  were 
Voted  by  the  last  Continental  Congress  for  the  heroes  who  fell  in  the  cause  of 
liberty." 


364  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

was  warmly  debated.  After  the  meeting  was  over,  Dr.  Charles 
H.  Hall,  the  celebrated  old  War  rector  of  the  Church  of  the 
Epiphany,  said:  "Gentlemen,  sooner  or  later  the  Diocese  of 
Washington  will  be  created.  It  must  come,  and  I  am  heartily 
in  favor  of  it."  Then,  turning  to  the  magnificent  view  of  Wash- 
ington spread  out  before  him,  he  added:  "I  have  just  been 
telling  Brother  Chew  that  this  is  the  spot  for  the  future  Cathe- 
dral." This  anecdote  was  told  me  by  William  H.  Meloy,  who 
was  present.  Mr.  Meloy  added  that  Dr.  Hall  also  said,  in  his 
well-known  humorous  vein:  "What  more  favored  sight  could 
there  be  for  the  See  of  Washington  or  the  site  of  the  Cathedral?" 

About  1893  I  heard  that  Congress  had  actually  granted  a 
charter  for  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Cathedral  Foundation  in 
the  District  of  Columbia.  After  Easter,  1894,  I  happened  to 
be  riding  in  the  cars  from  Washington  to  New  York,  when  I 
met  the  Rev.  George  W.  Douglas.  He  gave  me  an  animated 
description  of  the  exciting  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Cathedral  which  had  recently  taken  place.  .  .  . 

Little  did  I  dream  how  soon  I,  so  far  away,  was  to  appear 
as  an  actual  actor  on  the  scene  myself,  or  that  in  a  few  weeks' 
time  I  would  be  elected  Bishop  of  Washington.  This  is  all  I 
can  remember  that  I  knew  about  the  Cathedral  before  I  was 
chosen  Bishop. 

Just  before  his  consecration  Dr.  Satterlee  went  to  see 
the  first  selected  site  of  the  Cathedral  consisting  of 
eighteen  acres,  not  more  than  half  of  which  could  be 
utilized,  and  which  both  in  contour  and  position  was  ill 
suited  for  the  purpose.  "Then  I  went  to  St.  Alban's, 
saw  its  magnificent  view,  and  felt  at  once  that  this  land 
on  Massachusetts  Avenue  was  the  site  for  the  Cathedral. 
But  alas!  the  property  had  been  bought  a  fortnight 
before."  After  his  consecration  he  selected  St.  Mark's 
church,  Capitol  Hill,  as  a  pro-Cathedral. 

First  because  it  was  down  in  an  out-of-the-way  neighborhood, 
and  down  also  in  finance,  and  hence  would  not  arouse  antag- 
onism or  jealousy  of  other  parishes;  second  because,  after  the 
sorrow  and  trials  of  heart-burning  divisions,  they  were  ready 
for  unity  and  peace.  Then  I  secured  a  clergy  house  and 
engaged    as    my   chaplains    the    Reverends    Charles    H.    Hayes, 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     365 

William  L.  De  Vries  and  Philip  M.  Rhinelander,  to  start  a  post- 
graduate clergy  school  for  deacons,  using  the  pro-Cathedral  as 
a  training  school  of  pastoral  experience,  somewhat  in  the  same 
way  as  hospitals  and  clinics  are  for  physicians.  The  clerical 
school  lasted  four  years.  Fifteen  deacons  were  instructed,  and 
it  was  only  closed  because  we  had  no  further  candidates  for 
orders  for  two  years,  because,  very  naturally,  bishops  of  other 
dioceses  wanted  to  keep  their  own  deacons. 

The  earliest  development  in  the  Cathedral  projecl:  was 
the  National  Cathedral  School  for  Girls.  Prior  to  the 
organization  of  the  Diocese,  "Dr.  Douglas  had  asked  Mrs. 
Phoebe  A.  Hearst,  widow  of  Senator  Hearst  of  California, 
to  be  one  of  five  to  give  a  Cathedral  School  for  Girls,  cost- 
ing about  $100,000.  She  said:  "Dr.  Douglas,  one  person 
can  do  this  work  better  than  five.  The  amount  is  insuf- 
ficient. I  will  give  $175,000  for  the  school."  Although 
plans  had  been  drawn  both  for  School  and  Cathedral  they 
were  not  approved  so  that  Bishop  Satterlee  was  free  to 
start  afresh.  At  the  Bishop's  request  Mrs.  Hearst  "ex- 
pressed emphatically  her  strong  disapproval  of  the  site 
chosen  at  a  meeting  of  the  Cathedral  Board,"  and  "the 
feeling  of  gloom  grew  deeper  and  deeper." 

"  Secretly,  as  the  clouds  grew  darker,  I  felt  brighter  and 
brighter.  We  were  free  of  any  architect  of  the  Cathedral  plans, 
and  now,  if  we  could  get  rid  of  the  land  and  start,  ab  ovo,  with 
no  obstacle  in  the  way,  I  felt  that  the  real  movement  was  not 
at  all  backward,  but  forward. "  The  Bishop  pointed  out  that 
the  property  at  Chevy-Chase  was  heavily  encumbered  by  mort- 
gages and  restrictions,  and  that  he  "believed  it  to  be  utterly 
unfit  for  a  Cathedral."  Whereupon  'the  Board  agreed  to  part 
with  the  land  if  the  Bishop  could  raise  money  for  the  purchase 
of  another  site."      The  Bishop  forthwith  cast  about  for  aid. 

I  then  asked  Senator  Edmunds  if  he  could  write  me  a  letter 
that  I  could  publish.  He  said:  "My  advice  to  you  is  to  apply 
to  the  bishops  of  the  Church  for  help.  Let  them  be  the  lead- 
ers in  raising  funds  for  the  Cathedral  throughout  the  land." 
Little  did  the  Senator  realize  how  deeply  our  Church  w;is  sat- 
urated  with   the   spirit   of  diocesamsm    and   local   jealousy.     The 


366  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

Roman  Church  in  the  United  States  is  a  unit.  It  will  sacrifice 
local  objects  for  national  objects.  The  Methodist  Church,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  national  rather  than  local,  from  its  want  of 
local  organization.  But  the  Episcopal  Church,  which  makes 
so  much  of  the  parish  and  the  diocese,  sees  nothing  beyond  the 
parish  and  the  diocese.  The  great  want  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
at  the  present  day  is  a  greater  spirit  of  national  unity  and 
organization.  Still,  Senator  Edmunds  was  right.  From  the 
moment  that  he  spoke  a  new  light  dawned  upon  me,  and  I  felt 
that,  acting  on  the  Gospel  principle  of  overcoming  "evil  with 
good,  I  ought  to  ignore  diocesanism  and  appeal  to  the  bishops, 
just  as  though  they  had  a  deep  interest  in  the  National  Cathe- 
dral. Afterwards,  when  I  spoke  to  Bishop  Paret  about  Sena- 
tor Edmunds'  plan,  he  answered:  "Yes,  that  is  the  only  thing 
to  do;  I  realized  this  long  ago."  When  I  asked  him  why, 
then,  he  did  not  appeal  to  the  bishops,  he  responded:  "My 
courage  failed  at  such  an  undertaking." 

In  the  meantime  Mrs.  Hearst  increased  her  gift  to 
$200,000  and  plans  for  the  School  progressed.  The  design 
submitted  by  Mr.  R.  W.  Gibson  was  accepted  in  1897. 
This  necessitated  immediate  action  in  connection  with  a 
site.  The  Bishop  was  clear  in  his  mind  that  the  prop- 
erty, finally  acquired,  was  the  one  to  aim  at,  but  the 
price  set  was  too  great.  Mrs.  Hearst  suggested  Kalo- 
rama,  "a  magnificent  site,  near  Dupont  Circle,  Massa- 
chusetts Avenue,  but  only  six  acres,  yet  so  near  the  city 
and  on  such  a  commanding  hill,  that  I  went  to  see  Mr. 
Howell,  Rector  of  St.  Margaret's,  and  we  arranged  that 
if  this  site  were  bought,  St.  Margaret's  should  be  the 
Cathedral  Chapel/'  but  this  involved  even  a  heavier 
outlay. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  I  had  not  one  dollar  in  hand;  but  I  am 
most  glad  that  this  site  was  so  carefully  considered  by  us.  It 
was  the  only  available  site  left  for  a  cathedral  in  the  whole  por- 
tion of  Washington  that  is  now  thickly  populated.  If  the  future 
years  people  ask  why  we  went  so  far  away,  across  Rock  Creek, 
for  a  site  out  in  the  country,  where  there  as  yet  were  neither 
streets  nor  houses,  we  can  answer  that  we  made  every  effort 
to  secure  the  only   available  piece  of  land   large  enough   for  a 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     367 

cathedral  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  White  House,  but  were 
prevented  from  purchasing  it  by  circumstances  utterly  beyond 
our  control. 

In  the  early  part  of  1898,  "the  whole  thing,  as  some 
one  said,  was  'up  in  the  air/  We  were  checked  and 
paralyzed  on  both  sides.  This  was  a  time  for  earnest 
prayer,  as  I  told  the  ladies  of  the  Bishop's  Guild  at  their 
Lenten  meeting"  A  corporate  communion  was  arranged 
to  take  place  at  St.  Alban's  Church  on  Easter  Monday, 
April  11,  1898. 

Now,  it  so  happened  that  this  was  the  very  day  when  Presi- 
dent McKinley  was  to  send  in  his  memorable  message  to  Con- 
gress about  the  blowing  up  of  the  "Maine"  in  the  harbor  of 
Havana.  That  message  meant  peace  or  war.  On  Easter 
Monday  morning,  Mrs.  William  Belden  Noble  came  to  me  and 
said,  in  a  manner  intensely  in  earnest:  "Why  is  there  no  prophet, 
no  Savanarola,  to-day  to  go  to  the  halls  of  Congress  to  stay 
this  war,  to  prevent  bloodshed,  to  deliver  God's  own  message 
of  peace?"  I  forget  what  I  answered.  I  only  know  that  her 
words  kept  ringing  in  my  ears,  driving  out  all  other  thought. 

The  corporate  communion  of  the  Bishop's  Guild  was  to  take 
place  at  noon,  at  the  very  hour  the  President's  message  was 
being  read  to  the  impatient  Senate.  I  felt  that  I  could  speak 
of  but  one  subject  in  such  an  hour.  In  my  communion  address 
I  earnestly  exhorted  all  present  to  pray  for  the  peace  of  our 
beloved  country,  to  pray  that  those  who  were  at  this  very  mo- 
ment listening  to  the  message  might  feel  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Spirit  of  Peace;  and  I  am  sure  that  this  was 
the  one  thought  uppermost  in  every  mind  as  all  approached  the 
altar  to  partake  of  the  sacrament  of  Christ's  body  and  blood. 

About  this  time  an  incident  occurred  worthy  of  mention 
in  connection  with  the  choice  of  a  site.  Miss  Bessie  J. 
Kibbey  advocated  property  at  the  head  of  Connecticut 
Avenue,  as  the  most  desirable  of  any  under  consideration. 
For  the  moment  it  was  held  at  an  exorbitant  price,  owing 
to  great  (though  up  to  date  unrealized)  expectations. 
In  the  late  Spring  of  1898  the  Bishop  took  Miss  Kibbey 
to  the  various  sites,  ending  at  that  of  his  preference: 


368  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

As  we  walked  along  the  lower  side,  on  Massachusetts  Avenue, 
the  Bishop  pointed  out  the  location  suggested  for  the  Cathe- 
dral near  the  Avenue.  Then  we  wandered  upward  to  the 
northern  boundary.  In  doing  so  the  Bishop  picked  up  an 
acorn.  When  we  reached  the  highest  point  we  stood  long, 
talking  about  the  Cathedral's  future,  its  great  work  and  the 
great  need  for  such  work.  I  realized  how  strongly  he  felt  it 
should  be  started  at  once,  how  much  it  would  mean  to  have 
the  land  ours  before  the  General  Convention  met  here,  how 
much  wiser  it  was  not  to  wait,  so  I  promised  to  do  all  in  my 
power  myself  and  to  influence  others  to  aid.  When  I  made  the 
promise  the  Bishop  lifted  his  eyes  for  a  few  moments  in  silent 
prayer,  then  dropping  the  acorn  to  the  ground,  he  looked  at  me 
with  a  wrapt  expression  and  said:  "It  may  be  we  are  on  holy 
ground.  God's  altar  may  rest  where  we  now  stand."  It  rests 
there  to-day. 

The  incident  remained  in  the  Bishop's  memory.  He 
afterwards  wrote  Miss  Kibbey:  "I  shall  never  forget 
that  morning  on  the  Cathedral  grounds  when  you  made 
the  Cathedral  a  possibility.  From  that  moment  a  start 
was  made  and  God  began  to  answer  our  prayers." 
On  the  day  of  the  laying  of  the  Foundation  Stone  in 
1906,  he  again  referred  to  it  in  writing  to  Miss  Kibbey: 
"How  the  Great  Oak  is  growing  from  the  little  acorn !' 

He  then  goes  on  to  say  in  his  Private  Record:  "I  then 
made  every  exertion  to  secure  the  money  needed  to  buy 
the  St.  Alban's  property.  From  one  source  I  expected 
with  some  reason,  to  get  #200,000,  and  when  I  wrote  for  it, 
and  received  a  'no'  in  reply,  I  shall  never  forget  the 
agony  of  that  sleepless  night.  I  learned  a  lesson  that 
night  that  I  shall  never  forget. "  The  Bishop  spent  the 
summer  of  1898  raising  funds  and  succeeded  in  securing 
$100,000.  But  the  least  for  which  the  property  could  be 
bought  was  #250,000  (afterwards  reduced  by  #5,000). 
Telegraphic  consent  to  the  transaction  was  received  from 
ten  out  of  the  thirteen  members  of  the  Board.  Prior  to 
the  corporate  aclion  of  the  Board,  Bishop  Satterlee  ac- 
cepted the  terms  on  the  morning  of  September  7.  The 
Board  met  that  afternoon: 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     369 

I  shall  never  forget  the  sensations  with  which,  at  the  Board 
meeting,  it  was  voted  to  buy  the  land.  All  knew  the  respon- 
sibility of  raising  the  money  depended  chiefly  on  me.  On 
the  preceding  Sunday,  at  Twilight  Park,  September  4th,  I  had 
walked  out  into  the  woods  with  the  feeling  that  this  was  the 
last  Sunday  I  should  be  free  for  many  years,  and  that  next 
Sunday  my  life  would  be  practically  mortgaged  for  $145,000. 
Then  I  thought  of  Admiral  Dewey  at  Manila,  and  how  for  the 
sake  of  his  country  he  had  taken  his  life  in  his  hands;  how,  if 
he  had  been  beaten  at  Manila,  there  was  absolutely  nowhere 
for  his  fleet  to  go;  how  they  would  be  portless,  coalless,  home- 
less, disabled.  Then  I  felt,  "If  Dewey  can  do  this  for  country, 
surely  I  can  take  a  different  kind  of  risk  for  God.,,1 

Yet,  when  at  the  Board  meeting  I  took  up  the  pen  to  sign 
the  contract  for  the  purchase  of  the  Cathedral  property,  it  re- 
quired as  much  nerve  and  courage  as  I  have  ever  put  forth. 

In  the  fifth  edition  of  the  Hand  Book  of  Washington 
Cathedral,  published  just  before  the  Bishop's  death  and 
probably  the  last  manuscript  to  which  he  set  his  hand, 
reference  is  twice  made  to  what  appeared  to  be  the  fore- 
ordained destiny  of  Mount  St.  Alban: 

The  beginnings  of  Washington  Cathedral  date  back  to  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  Joseph  Nourse,  the  private  secretary 
of  George  Washington,  used  to  pray,  under  the  Gothic  arches 
of  the  trees,  that  at  some  future  date,  God  would  build  a  Church 
on  "Albion  Hill,"  and  since  that  day  there  have  been  sacred  and 
historic  associations  connected  with  the  site,  hallowed  as  those 
which  consecrate  the   beginnings  of  most  European   Cathedrals. 

In  1845  St.  John's  School  for  Boys  occupied  Mount 
St.  Alban,  and  ten  years  later  St.  Alban's  Free  Church 
was  built. 

1  "Fourteen  months  afterwards,  when  Admiral  Dewey  was  elected  a  trustee 
of  the  Cathedral  and  he  came  to  see  me,  accepting  the  position,  I  told  him  about 
this,  and  added  that  in  this  way,  through  his  influence,  he  had  already  helped 
the  Cathedral.  He  responded:  'Did  you  really  think  of  Manila  at  that  especial 
time?'  When  I  answered,  'Yes,'  he  said:  'I  am  grateful  that  it  is  so.  My 
father  helped  to  build  the  little  church  at  our  home  in  Vermont.  Everything 
that  is  good  in  me  I  got  from  him,  and  if  I  can  help  in  any  way  to  build  the 
Cathedral  of  Washington,  I  am  following  in  his  footsteps!'"     H.  Y.  S. 


37o  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

Several  times  in  its  history  the  property  would  have  become 
the  site  of  a  private  residence,  and  have  been  lost  to  Divine 
uses  had  not  a  little  Church  stood  in  the  way,  keeping  the 
ground,  as  we  can  see  now,  for  the  Cathedral,  in  unconscious 
fulfilment  of  the  prophetic  text  used  by  Rev.  Dr.,  afterwards 
Bishop,  Coxe,  at  the  consecration  of  St.  Alban's  Church,  "The 
place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground." 

The  General  Convention  was  to  convene  in  Washington 
in  October  of  this  year  (1898).  The  Bishop,  with  his 
instinct  for  functions  and  the  spectacular,  desired  to 
bring  the  national  character  of  the  Cathedral  before  the 
Church  on  this  occasion  and  thought  of  laying  the  corner- 
stone of  the  school  then.     But  the  time  was  too  short. 

Then  all  suddenly,  on  the  Sunday  after  the  purchase  was 
made  —  that  is,  Sunday,  September  nth  —  while  I  was  in  the 
little  Church  at  Twilight  Park,  the  remembrance  came  back 
to  my  mind  of  the  Communion  service  on  Easter  Monday  of 
the  Bishop's  Guild,  in  which  we  had  prayed  so  earnestly  for 
peace.  On  that  day  the  war  with  Spain  was  practically  begun. 
Now  it  was  practically  over.  Then  came  the  remembrance  of 
another  service  at  Northeast  Harbor  on  August  nth,  when  the 
news  came  to  us  regarding  the  suspension  of  hostilities,  and 
when  Bishop  Doane  called  us  all  to  the  little  Church  there,  Dr. 
Nelson,  my  son  Churchill  and  I  ringing  the  bell,  Drs.  Hunting- 
ton, Mackay-Smith,  Cornelius  Smith,  President  Gilman,  of 
Johns  Hopkins,  being  present,  and  we  held  a  short  thanks- 
giving service  for  the  restoration  of  peace.  This  suggested  the 
erection  of  a  Cross  of  Peace  as  the  first  monument  on  the  new 
Cathedral  grounds,  with  the  inscription:  "That  it  may  please 
Thee  to  give  to  all  nations  unity,  peace  and  concord;  We 
beseech  Thee  to  hear  us,  Good  Lord!"  At  once  I  told  the 
thought  to  my  wife  and  daughter,  also  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Rives; 
and  Dr.  Rives  said  at  once  he  would  give  the  Cross.  We  all 
agreed  that  no  more  beautiful  beginning  could  be  made  of  the 
National  American  Cathedral  than  this  Cross  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace.  But  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  The  next  day  I  wrote  to 
Mr.  Gibson,  the  architect  of  the  Hearst  School,  to  prepare  a 
sketch  and  get  estimates  for  a  monolithic  cross  like  that  erected 
by   Bishop   Doane   to   his   daughter,  behind   the   chancel   of  the 


THE     PEACE     CROSS 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     371 

chapel  at  Northeast  Harbor.  Mr.  Gibson  wrote  back  that  we 
needed  a  larger  cross,  at  least  twenty  feet  high.  After  this 
there  was  great  delay  in  getting  estimates. 

There  were  also  other  vexations  and  delays,  consequent 
upon  attempting  such  a  project  in  a  hurry.  "On  October 
9th,  only  fourteen  days  before  the  Peace  Cross  service,  I 
heard  that  the  car  on  which  the  stone  had  been  sent 
was  lost  and  could  not  be  found."  However,  all  ended 
happily  and  the  Cross  was  erected  two  days  before  the 
function  of  unveiling. 

President  McKinley  promised  to  be  present  but  he 
refused  to  speak.  On  the  appointed  day,  "I  called  at  the 
White  House,  with  Churchill  as  my  chaplain,  for  the 
President.  On  the  way  out  I  said  to  him:  'I  wish  I 
could  venture  to  ask  the  President  to  speak,  notwith- 
standing his  refusal.'  He  responded:  'I  should  not 
venture,  Bishop,  for  he  might  refuse  again/  'But/  said 
I,  'this  Cathedral  is  to  last  through  coming  centuries. 
One  word  from  the  President,  if  it  were  only  a  "God  bless 
this  undertaking,"  would  make  the  occasion  historic' 
He  was  silent  for  a  moment  and  then  said:  'After  your 
own  speech  is  over  you  may  appeal  to  me  if  you  wish, 
and  I  will  then  decide  whether  or  not  to  speak.' 

When  the  President,  with  the  Bishops,  were  gathered  to- 
gether in  St.  Alban's  Church,  at  once  the  band  began  to  play 
the  processional  hymn,  the  choristers  to  move  before  the  door, 
and  Bishop  Doane,  his  face  all  glowing,  said:  "This  is  Glas- 
tonbury over  again  —  referring  to  the  closing  services  of  the 
Lambeth  Conference  of  1897.  But  the  President's  brow  was 
dark  as  a  thunder-cloud.  He  did  not  as  yet  understand  it, 
until  he  started,  preceded  by  the  lay  members  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  and  walked  between  Bishop  Doane  and  myself  to 
the  platform,  only  200  feet  away.  The  scene  was  indes- 
scribably  beautiful,  with  the  whole  city  of  Washington  spread 
out  beneath  us  in  the  golden  sunshine  of  the  October  after- 
noon. Bishop  Dudley  took  the  first  part  of  the  service.  Dr. 
Dix  read  the  lesson.  Bishop  McLaren  took  the  Creed  and 
prayers.     All  this  was  arranged  at  the  last  moment,  for  Bishops 


372  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

Paret  and  Potter  were  absent.  Then  I  spoke  and  made  the 
appeal  to  the  President.  He  rose  and  made  a  beautiful  little 
address,  which  we  have  since  utilized  as  an  exhortation  before 
all  Cathedral  services.  Then  I  gave  the  signal.  The  American 
flag  that  enveloped  the  Cross  floated  down,  giving  the  effecl: 
of  a  white  Iona  cross  shooting  up  out  of  its  folds  as  from  red 
clouds  of  glory.  The  whole  choir  of  250  voices,  with  the  band, 
burst  out  with  the  hymn,  "In  the  Cross  of  Christ  I  glory,  tow- 
ering o'er  the  wrecks  of  time."  I  felt  instinctively  that  a  profound 
impression  had  somehow  been  made  upon  the  vast  assembled 
multitude.  The  President  turned  to  me,  exclaiming:  "Beautiful! 
It  is  wondrous  in  its  beauty!"  Then  came  the  conclusion  of 
the  service  and  the  benedidion,  pronounced  by  Bishop  Whipple. 

President  McKinley's  address  gathers  much  thought  in 
the  two  sentences  which  comprise  it: 

"I  appreciate  the  very  great  privilege  given  me  to  partici- 
pate with  the  ancient  Church  here  represented,  its  bishops  and 
its  laymen,  in  this  new  sowing  for  the  Master  and  for  men. 
Every  undertaking  like  this  for  the  promotion  of  religion  and 
morality  and  education  is  a  positive  gain  to  citizenship,  to 
country  and  to  civilization,  and  in  this  single  word  I  wish  for 
the    sacred    enterprise    the    highest    influence    and    the    widest 

usefulness." 

I  drove  the  President  home,  the  narrative  continues,  with 
Rev.  P.  M.  Rhinelander  as  my  chaplain,  and  when  I  landed 
him  on  the  steps  of  the  White  House  safely,  without  accident, 
a  mingled  feeling  of  thankfulness  and  relief  came  over  me.  The 
load  hanging  over  my  spirit  since  September  4th  was  already 
lifted.  The  first  service  of  the  Cathedral  was  historic.  The 
presence  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  of  our  Gen- 
eral Convention  had  nationalised  the  Cathedral  of  Washington. 
Henceforth  it  could  not  fail.1 

On  All  Saints'  Day,  as  is  recorded  in  an  earlier  chapter, 
the  remains  of  Bishop  Claggett  and  his  wife  were  trans- 
lated to  the  Cathedral  Close. 

On  Ascension  Day,  May  9,  1899,  the  corner-stone  of  the 

1  "Shortly  after  this,  Mr.  Thomas  Nelson  Page,  the  author,  proposed  that 
we  should  issue  a  Peace  Cross  Book,  and  at  my  request  he  not  only  wrote  one  of 
the  articles,  but  supervised  the  whole  publication.  The  book  was  issued  by 
February,  and  sent  to  all  the  Bishops  and  Clergy  of  our  Church." 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  373 

Cathedral  School  for  Girls  was  laid.  The  school  was 
involved  in  a  variety  of  difficulties  and  was  hardly  ready 
for  the  dedicatory  services  a  year  later  (Ascension  Day, 
1900).     It  was  eventually  opened  October  1,  1900. 

No  effort  or  device  to  rouse  interest  and  secure  money 
for  the  Cathedral  was  left  untried  —  the  founders' 
certificates,  committees  in  various  centres,  and  ceaseless 
personal  solicitations. 

The  organization  of  National  Cathedral  committees  in 
different  dioceses,  with  the  consent  and  co-operation  of  the 
bishops,  was  a  valuable  thing  for  the  Cathedral  of  course 
but  of  still  greater  value  to  the  dioceses.  Diocesanism  is 
a  sore  disease  and  hard  to  cure.  And  it  is  just  here  that 
the  essential  greatness  of  the  man  comes  out.  He  had 
the  well-being  of  the  whole  Church  as  the  main  motive  of 
all  his  undertakings.  He  made  as  brave  an  endeavor  as 
any  man  of  his  generation  to  consider  local  Church  work 
in  terms  of  the  whole. 

Money  was  slow  in  coming.  The  burden  of  debt, 
however,  did  not  quench  the  Bishop's  ardor  nor  stifle  his 
imagination.  He  had  a  reverence  for  historical  associa- 
tions and,  as  a  consequence,  the  continuity  and  unity  of 
the  Church's  life  appealed  to  him.  He  conceived  the  idea 
of  making  this  appear  in  the  fabric  of  the  Cathedral. 
The  pilgrimage  to  Glastonbury  and  Canterbury  during 
the  Lambeth  Conference  of  1897  suggested  desirable  links. 
Accordingly  he  secured  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stanley 
Austin,  to  whom  the  ruins  of  Glastonbury  belong,  stones 
for  a  Cathedra  for  the  Cathedral. 

When  I  reached  England,  in  June,  1900,  I  wrote  to  Mr. 
Austin  of  Glastonbury.  He  answered  that  three  boxes  of  Glas- 
tonbury stones  were  now  on  the  way  to  Washington,  and  in- 
vited me  to  come  to  the  Abbey  in  August.  At  the  S.  P.  G. 
anniversary  meeting  —  200th  —  in  Exeter  Hall,  I  sat  next  to 
the  Bishop  of  Bristol,  who  had  made  the  address  at  Glaston- 
bury Abbey  after  the  Lambeth  Conference,  and  asked  him  to 
name  the  Glastonbury  Bishop's  seat  for  us.  In  answer  I  re- 
ceived  the   following  letter. 


374  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

"the  athenaeum,  pall  mall, 

June  20,  1900. 

"My  dear  Brother. — You  were  good  enough  to  ask  me 
yesterday  if  I  had  any  suggestion  as  to  a  title  for  the  stone 
seat  which  you  are  to  build  in  the  Cathedral  of  Washington, 
of  material  from  the  ruins  of  Glastonbury  Abbey.  You  asked 
me  on  the  score  of  my  having  given  the  address  at  Glaston- 
bury when  we  all  met  there  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Lambeth 
Conference  in  1897.  The  purpose  of  our  meeting  there  was  to 
emphasize  the  existence  of  the  British  Church  in  this  land  long 
before  the  coming  of  Augustine  from  Rome,  the  thirteen  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  which  we  had  been  keeping.  The  key- 
note of  the  whole  was  the  word  and  the  idea  'British.'  If  you 
do  not  think  that  'British'  is  in  these  modern  times  regarded 
as  meaning,  among  other  things,  'non-American/  I  should  be 
induced  to  recommend  the  use  of  the  word  in  some  such  phrase 
as  the  'British  Cathedra.'  If  you  think  that  'British'  has  in 
these  last  times  come  to  mean  that,  then  I  should  face  the  facT: 
that  a  'Glastonbury  Chair'  is  a  very  common  thing,  and  'go 
one  better,'  as  the  slang  phrase  has  it,  by  boldly  naming  your 
treasure  'The  Glastonbury  Throne.'  Yesterday  I  leaned  to 
the  'British  Cathedra';  to-day  I  incline  to  hope  that  when 
Britannia  and  America  have  ruled  the  waves  sufficiently  straight 
I  may  come  over  and  see  you  seated  on  the  'Glastonbury 
Throne.'  Only  bear  in  mind,  that  a  very  simple  metathesis 
will  turn  your  seat  into  the  'Glastonbury  thorn'  of  world-wide 
celebrity.  Sitting  upon  thorns  is,  I  hope,  not  so  much  of  a 
fun&ion  of  Bishops  on  your  side  as  it  is  on  this. 

Yours  with  all  warmth  of  regard, 

G.   F.    BRISTOL." 

I  answered  the  Bishop  of  Bristol,  thanking  him  for  his  kind 
and  graceful  letter,  and  saying  it  would  be  itself  one  of  our 
treasures  in  the  annals  of  the  beginning  of  the  Cathedral  of 
Washington. 

Mr.  Austin,  in  answer  to  my  letter  requesting  some  sugges- 
tions as  to  the  inscription  to  be  placed  on  the  chair,  most  gra- 
ciously said  he  did  not  wish  his  own  name  to  appear,  but 
wished  the  inscription  to  read,  "From  the  Churchmen  of  Glas- 
tonbury to  the  Churchmen  of  America." 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     375 

The  Glastonbury  Thorn  has  found  new  root  also  in  the 
Cathedral  close  —  near,  but  not  in,  the  Cathedral.  There 
is  doubtless  a  thorn  in  the  Cathedra  though  of  the  American 
Episcopal,  rather  than  of  the  Glastonbury,  species! 

The  next  link  in  the  chain  binding  the  past  and  present, 
the  old  and  new,  was  the  Jordan  Font  and  the  Jerusalem 
Altar. 

At  Paris,  France,  I  unexpededly  met  my  old  dragoman  of 
the  Holy  Land,  Herbert  Edgar  Clark,  whom  I  had  not  seen  for 
twenty  years.  He  was  staying  at  the  same  Hotel,  "Tremouille." 
In  the  course  of  our  interview  I  asked  him  if  he  could  procure 
us  stones  from  the  Jordan  for  a  Cathedral  baptismal  font.  He 
said  he  could  only  procure  boulders  and  pebbles  from  there; 
and  then  I  suggested,  "Why  not  take  stone  from  the  quarries  of 
Solomon,  the  best  white  limestone  called  "Melekee  or  Royal ?'" 
This  suggested  to  me  in  turn  another  idea,  namely,  that 
of  a  stone  altar  for  the  Cathedral.  I  thought  the  matter  over 
after  I  saw  him,  and  finally,  on  shipboard,  as  I  was  on  the  way 
from  Cherbourg  to  New  York,  I  wrote  him,  asking  him  if  he 
could  procure  stones  from  the  quarries  of  Solomon  for  this 
purpose.  These  would  form  an  altar  for  the  Cathedral  than 
which  none  could  be  more  sacredly  appropriate,  for  the  "Quar- 
ries of  Solomon"  are  situated  at  the  base  of  that  which  is  now 
supposed  to  be  the  hill  just  outside  of  the  Damascus  Gate  of 
Jerusalem,  Mount  Calvary;  i.e.  the  place  where  Christ  was 
crucified,  where  Joseph  of  Arimathaea's  new-hewn  sepulchre 
was,  and  where  Christ  rose  from  the  dead.  In  the  Roman 
Church  the  association  between  an  altar  and  a  tomb  is  preserved 
by  placing  relics  and  bones  of  the  saints  beneath  that  altar. 
In  the  Cathedral  of  Washington  (if  this  plan  is  carried  out) 
the  stones  of  the  altar  will  be  taken  from  that  selfsame  hill 
in  which  was  cut  Joseph's  new-hewn  sepulchre,  where  Christ 
Himself  was  buried  and  from  which  He  arose  in  the  power  of 
His  resurrection  life.  Thus,  while  the  ancient  associations  of 
an  altar  are  preserved,  they  will  be  freed  from  superstition  and 
will  come  from  the  most  sacred  spot  of  all  the  earth.  Besides 
this,  the  first  stones  of  the  Cathedral  will  be  its  stone  altar. 

The    stone    chosen,    after    samples    were    sent    by    Mr. 
Clark,  was  'Mizzi  Helu.' 


376  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

At  present  I  think  it  might  be  well  to  erect  two  buildings, 
one  for  our  diocesan  and  mission  libraries,  etc.,  the  other  as  a 
sort  of  chapel  or  Jerusalem  Chamber,  to  contain  the  Jerusalem 
Altar  and  the  Glastonbury  Cathedra,  these  two  buildings  to  be 
connected  by  a  large  archway,  through  which  the  Peace  Cross 
can  be  seen. 

The  Little  Sanctuary  and  All  Hallows'  Gate  were 
built  so  that  the  first  Eucharist  at  the  Cathedral  Altar 
was  celebrated  on  Ascension  Day,  1902. 

The  Mizzi  Helu  stone,  sent  from  Jerusalem,  turned  out  to 
be  a  beautiful,  dove-colored  marble,  capable  of  receiving  a  fine 
polish.  The  texts  on  three  sides  are  the  events  of  Christ's 
life,  the  Crucifixion,  Entombment  and  Resurrection.  Those  on 
the  front  set  forth  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Resurrection, 
Ascension  and  institution  of  the  Eucharist  in  Bible  words. 
The  centre  of  the  altar  is  a  solid  block  of  granite,  on  the  top  of 
which  are  graven  the  same  words  that  are  inscribed  on  every 
brick  of  the  Church  of  St.  Sophia  at  Constantinople,  built  by 
Justinian:  "God  is  in  the  midst  of  her;  therefore  shall  she  not 
be  removed."  (Psalm  XLVI,  5.)  In  the  forefront  of  the  granite 
are  the  words  that  God  spake  to  Moses  at  the  burning  bush, 
as  paraphrased  in  Psalm  CXXXV,  13,  and  the  words  are: 
"Thy  Name,  Oh  Lord,  endures  for  ever,  and  so  doth  Thy  me- 
morial, Oh  Lord,  through  all  generations.,,  These  words  derive 
additional  significance  from  the  fact  that  the  memorial  of  the 
Lord   is  now  the  Holy  Eucharist. 

In  July,  1902,  I  wrote  to  Herbert  E.  Clark,  of  Jerusalem, 
asking  him  if  he  could  procure  from  the  River  Jordan  ten  bar- 
rels of  pebbles  for  a  lining,  either  of  mosaic  or  in  cement,  of 
the  octagonal  Cathedral  Font,1  eight  or  ten  feet  in  diameter, 
with  running  water;  also  if  he  could  procure  marble  slabs  from 
Bethelehem  for  the  exterior  of  the  Font.  On  September  3,  I 
received  his  answer,  stating  that  he  would  gladly  undertake  the 
work  and  would  do  it  gratuitously  "for  love  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Washington."  I  wrote  the  same  day,  giving  the  order.  Then 
I  wrote  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  St.  Andrew's  (Dr.  Wilkinson), 
telling  him  that  I  hoped  this  Font  (large  enough  for  immersion) 
could    be   given   by   the   descendants   of  those   sects   which   had 

1  Of  Carrara  marble. 


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THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     377 

separated  from  the  mother  Church  of  England,  and  separated 
in  America  previous  to  1776;  also  to  give  me  his  opinion  as  to 
the  question  of  "lay  baptism/  with  reference  to  the  question 
of  allowing  ministers  of  these  denominations  the  use  of  the 
Cathedral  Font  for  the  baptism  of  their  own  people.  Person- 
ally, I  feel  that  while  the  Church  has  allowed  "lay  baptism" 
and  received  those  baptized  by  schismatics  without  re-baptism, 
she  has  always  discountenanced  it;  but  I  want  to  search  this 
question  to  the  bottom  before  deciding.  I  want  to  know  what 
the  voice  of  the  Catholic  Church  is  on  this  subject.  If  we 
allow  the  use  of  this  Font  to  the  ministers  of  the  Protestant 
denominations,  it  will  help  Christian  unity  among  Protestants, 
but  I  fear  it  will  retard  Church  unity  among  the  old  historic 
churches. 

Shortly  after  this,  in  September,  I  wrote  to  Rev.  Professor 
Shields,  of  Princeton  University,  asking  him  if  he  could  give 
me  the  names  of  persons  in  these  above-named  denominations 
who  are  so  favorably  disposed  to  our  Church  as  to  be  willing 
to  give  the  Font. 

The  need  of  squaring  off  the  Cathedral  property  meant 
new  outlay  and  new  financial  responsibility  for  the 
harassed  Bishop: 

All  this  is  absolutely  necessary,  but  as  Bishop  it  depresses 
me,  for  /  have  to  raise  the  money.  I  am  doing  all  I  can  for  the 
sake  of  nationalizing  the  Cathedral  and  creating  a  general  in- 
terest among  our  people.  I  have  not  only  raised  money  for  the 
land,  but  also  for  the  Peace  Cross,  the  Glastonbury  Cathedra, 
the  equipment  of  the  School,  the  Jerusalem  Altar,  the  All 
Hallows'  Gate,  the  Cathedral  Park  Road,  the  Canon  Missioner, 
and  the  missionary  work  of  the  Cathedral.  In  addition  to  this 
I  have  written  a  Cathedral  book  and  also  many  pamphlets, 
formed  Cathedral  committees  in  Boston,  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  Newport,  Connecticut  and  Chicago,  and  arranged  for 
Cathedral  open-air  services  and  diocesan  retreats.  Yet  our 
wealthy  Churchmen  have  not  come  forward,  with  few  excep- 
tions, to  assist  me  with  large  sums.  Nine-tenths  of  the  burden 
of  my  work  as  Bishop  in  the  Capital  of  the  country  would  be 
lifted  if  the  Cathedral  debt  were  paid,  but  no  one  to-day,  with 
such  few  exceptions  as  I  have  suggested,  seems  to  feel  any  per- 


378  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

sonal  responsibility  regarding  this  work  of  the  Church.  This 
is  characteristic  of  the  times.  Our  Church  is  chiefly  parochial. 
I  do  not  complain.  Christ  knows  best  and  He  owns  the  uni- 
verse. All  power  is  given  to  Him  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 
But  I  mention  this  lack  of  a  feeling  of  responsibility  in  passing, 
to  show  how  little  sympathy  with  the  Cathedral  of  Washington 
has  been  shown  up  to  this  year  (September,  1902),  by  those  who 
give  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  to  hospitals,  libraries, 
dispensaries,  colleges,  etc.,  etc.,  while  they  take  less  interest  in 
the  national  aspeds  of  our  Church  or  the  worship  of  God.  I 
owe  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  holy  women,  to  Mrs.  Pyne, 
Miss  Isabel  Freeman,  Miss  Matilda  W.  Bruce,  Miss  Bessie 
Kibbey,  Mrs.  Buckingham,  Mrs.  ViAor  Ballinger,  and  Mrs. 
William  C.  Rives,  without  whom  the  Cathedral  work  would 
not  have  been  what  it  is  to-day.  Last  but  not  least,  let  me  not 
forget  the  name  of  Miss  Rhoda  Rogers,  a  member  of  the  Wash- 
ington Committee,  who  died  this  summer.  She  took  the  deep- 
est interest  in  the  Cathedral,  and  gave  it  $750  in  her  lifetime 
and  left  it  #5,000  in  her  will. 

I  think  I  have  omitted  to  name  the  St.  Hilda's  Stone,  or 
Hildastone,  procured  for  me  first  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  G.  H.  Somer- 
set Walpole  and  Rev.  Mr.  Loxley,  of  Whitby,  through  whom 
the  stone  was  given  to  the  Cathedral  of  Washington  by  the 
owner  of  Whitby  Abbey,  where  St.  Hilda  lived,  and  which  was 
the  cradle  of  all  English  literature.  This  stone  was  the  base  of 
an  arch  in  the  old  Abbey  of  Whitby,  and  it  is  now  on  the 
Cathedral  grounds.  .  .  .  This  Hildastone  was  finally  used  as  a 
cover  for  a  pillar,  in  which  a  receptacle  was  cut  to  hold  the 
Book  of  Remembrance,  and  it  is  now  at  the  right  of  the 
Jerusalem  Altar  in  the  Little  Sanctuary. 

At  the  end  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Herbert  Clark,  who 
personally  superintended  the  quarrying  of  the  stones  for 
the  Jerusalem  Altar  and  gathering  those  for  the  Jordan 
Font  at  the  mouth  of  the  'Cherith,'  Bishop  Satterlee 
notes:  "It  ought  to  be  stated  here  that  Mr.  Clark  has 
absolutely  refused  to  make  any  charge  for  his  own  serv- 
ices, either  for  the  Jerusalem  stones  for  the  Altar  or 
these  stones  from  the  Jordan  for  the  Font.  He  has  taken 
all  this  trouble  gratuitously  and  freely,  out  of  love  for 
his  religion,  his  native  land  and  the  Cathedral  of  Washing- 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  379 

ton."  "One  more  a  (ft  of  faith  in  God  has  been  trium- 
phant," the  Bishop  writes  when  he  learns  that  the  stones  of 
the  Font  have  been  shipped.  "The  Cathedral  is  wholly 
His  work,  and  when  I  look  back  its  history  is  incredible." 
Then  he  rehearses  the  progress  of  the  past  five  years 
beginning  with  the  purchase  of  the  site. 

Then  came  the  Font  and  Baptistery,  costing  $20,000.  I  was 
led  into  this  project.  If  I  could  have  foreseen  the  trials  it  would 
bring  in  the  winter,  spring  and  summer  of  1903,  I  should  never 
have  had  the  courage  to  attempt  it.  Now  we  have  money  in 
hand  to  pay  for  the  Font  and  Baptistery,  though  by  the  fail- 
ure of  those  who  said  they  wished  to  give  the  cost  of  the  Font 
(though  the  wish  stopped  short  of  a  direct  pledge),  we  had  last 
January  not  one  cent  subscribed  for  it,  and  the  refusals  to  give 
have  far  outnumbered  the  promises  of  help.  No  one  will  ever 
realize  the  long  suspense,  continuous  strain,  the  necessity  of 
depending  daily  on  God's  help,  which  the  Cathedral  debt, 
the  Cathedral  School,  and  then  the  Cathedral  Font  has  called 
forth.  One  must  pass  through  such  an  experience  to  know 
what  it  means.  My  only  objecl:  in  writing  about  it  here  is  to 
show  that  God,  and  not  man,  has  begun  the  building  of  the  Ca- 
thedral Foundation  of  Washington,  and  that  the  work  would  not 
have  and  could  never  have  reached  its  present  condition  of 
security,  had  not  the  Cathedral  builders  tried  to  obey  the  New 
Testament  injunction  to  "walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight." 
The  whole  stress  and  burden  has  come  from  the  effort  and 
venture  of  faith.  The  risks  taken  were  enormous,  but  they 
were  not  unreasonable,  or  taken  without  great  caution  and 
incessant  prayer.  We  had  the  vision.  We  were  obedient  to 
the  heavenly  'vision,  but  the  success  that  followed  has  been 
altogether  divine.  Man  had  nothing  to  do  with  it  except  to 
follow  God's  lead.  I  want  to  emphasize  this  facl:  with  all  the 
earnestness  that  I  can  put  into  words,  in  order  that  future 
generations  may  be  convinced  that  the  Cathedral  Foundation 
in  its  beginnings,  was  built  up  by  God  Himself,  and  I  want 
those  future  generations  to  realize,  as  strongly  as  we  do  in  our 
day,  that  the  work  is  blessed  and  hallowed  and  carried  on 
by  Christ  Himself,  while  we  have  the  privilege  of  being  co- 
laborers  with  Him  as  He  builds  it  up,  step  by  step  and  stone 
by   stone. 


38o  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

This  was  the  year  in  which  Mrs.  Harriet  Lane  John- 
ston's bequest  of  #300,000  came  to  the  Cathedral  Founda- 
tion for  the  erection  of  a  Boys'  School  in  memory  of  her 
two  deceased  sons.     Other  bequests  followed. 

October,  1903.  —  The  month  of  October  will  ever  be  historical 
with  the  Church  in  Washington.  First  came  the  All  Ameri- 
can Conference  of  Bishops,  which  held  its  sessions  in  the  pro- 
Cathedral  Church  of  the  Ascension,  beginning  on  October  20th 
and  ending  on  October  24th,  and  which  was  attended  by  46 
American  Bishops,  ten  Canadian  Bishops  and  the  Archbishop  of 
the  West  Indies. 

On  the  next  day,  Saturday,  there  was  a  mass  meeting  at  the 
request  of  the  Presiding  Bishop.  We  had  contemplated  a  chil- 
dren's meeting  in  connection  with  the  Missionary  Council,  but 
the  authorities  in  the  Mission  House  considered  this  inexpe- 
dient, so  we  found,  in  this  request  of  the  Presiding  Bishop,  the 
great  opportunity  we  had  desired.  After  the  Bishops  had  taken 
a  drive  in  the  cold  air  to  see  the  environment  of  Washington 
and  the  "Catholic  University "  in  carriages  provided  most  gen- 
erously by  Miss  Bessie  Kibbey,  they  came  to  Convention  Hall. 
Half  an  hour  before  the  service  every  seat  was  filled.  There 
were  2,000  Sunday  School  children,  the  whole  Marine  Band  in 
full  red  uniform,  and  a  vast  congregation  of  7,000.  Most  of 
the  seats  behind  the  Bishops  were  occupied  by  clergymen  of 
various  Christian  bodies.  All  were  invited.  The  five  Bishops 
who  spoke,  Brewer  of  Montana,  Baldwin  of  Huron,  Hare  of 
South  Dakota,  Pinkham  of  Calgary  and  Nuttall,  Archbishop 
of  the  West  Indies,  each  confined  himself,  at  his  own  request, 
to  a  ten-minute  address,  and  the  effect  of  the  whole  was  most 
inspiring. 

Sunday,  October  25.  —  20th  Sunday  after  Trinity,  1903.  The 
day  broke  raw  and  cold,  but  fair.  I  received  protests  against 
the  afternoon  service,  but  Rev.  Dr.  Bigelow,  from  the  Weather 
Bureau,  said  the  day  would  be  a  fairly  good  day  for  the  late 
autumn  and  to  listen  to  no  protests.  In  the  morning  came  the 
closing  service  of  the  All  American  Conference  at  the  pro- 
Cathedral.  As  I  drove  with  General  Wilson,  he  being  in  full 
uniform,  to  the  White  House,  I  realized  that  the  weather  was 
growing  warmer.  After  we  had  spoken  to  the  President  and 
Mrs.   Roosevelt   and  they  had  gotten   into  their  carriage,   sur- 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  381 

rounded  by  secret  service  men,  we  followed  Secretary  Loeb, 
and  when  we  reached  St.  Alban's  we  found,  amidst  the  crowds, 
that  the  procession  was  forming;  the  boy  choirs  from  all  the 
Churches  leading,  300  strong;  then  the  Marine  Band,  in  vest- 
ments, 60  strong;  then  the  clergy,  four  abreast,  200;  then  the 
46  Bishops.  The  Cathedral  Trustees  met  the  President  near 
the  platform  as  an  escort.  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  with  the  wives  of 
the  bishops  and  trustees,  sat  between  the  choir  and  congrega- 
tion, and  saw  the  procession  as  it  filed  past,  each  sedlion  headed 
by  a  processional  cross. 

Here  in  the  hollow  it  suddenly  became  as  warm  as  on  a  sum- 
mer day.  The  view  from  the  platform  was  remarkable.  The 
ravine  has  wonderful  acoustic  properties,  and  as  it  is  about  350 
feet  square,  it  affords  standing  room  for  26,000  persons.  There 
must  have  been  at  least  16,000  present,  for  the  records  of  the 
Tenally-town  cars  were  12,000,  those  of  the  Chevy  Chase  4,000 
beyond  their  usual  Sunday  traffic,  and  hundreds  walked  or  came 
in  carriages.  As  one  looked  upon  this  vast  congregation  every 
place  was  filled,  and  every  one  whom  I  have  seen  said  that  the 
whole  service  and  the  words  of  the  speakers  were  heard  even  by 
those  most  distant  from  them;  and  when  the  President,  speaking 
as  a  Christian  man,  appealed  to  the  religious  leaders  regarding 
their  moral  responsibilities  of  leadership,  and  when,  in  addition, 
after  he  had  awakened  commingled  religious  and  patriotic  associa- 
tions, the  hymn,  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,"  so  closely  associated 
with  the  dying  moments  of  President  McKinley,  was  sung,  the 
effecl  was  thrilling.  .  .  .  We  had  made  the  most  minute 
preparations  for  this  service.  General  Wilson,  U.S.A.,  was 
head  marshal.  Rev.  Dr.  Harding  had  charge  of  the  chorus. 
The  Churchmen's  League  and  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew 
were  the  ushers.  Chaplain  Pierce  and  the  members  of  the 
Marine  Band,  who  had  prepared  the  way  through  the  summer 
open-air  services,  and  Mr.  Bratenahl,  Rector  of  St.  Alban's, 
were  most  valuable  in  having  an  eye  to  all  the  lacunae  of  the 
preparation.  Mr.  Goldsborough  and  Mr.  Weaver  had  arranged 
a  line  of  herdics  from  Chevy  Chase  Railroad  to  the  Cathedral 
gate.  But  our  feeling  at  the  moment  was  that  God  had  taken 
the  whole  out  of  our  hands,  and  wrought  an  effect  which  no 
human  effort  could  possibly  have  accomplished  —  in  the  sudden 
warm  weather,  in  the  Christian  address  of  the  President,  fol- 
lowed   by   the   McKinley   hymn,   in   the   number  of  bishops   as- 


382  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

sembled  and  the  crowds  who  were  so  unexpectedly  present,  in 
the  absence  of  a  single  complaint  and  of  a  single  accident  among 
so  many  thousands.  The  Archbishop  made  a  most  effective 
address  after  the  President  had  spoken,  and  the  latter  was  so 
much  impressed  by  it  that  he  invited  the  Archbishop  at  once 
to  luncheon.  .  .  .  When  Bishop  Doane  said:  "It  is  Glastonbury 
over  again,"  the  Archbishop  responded:  "More  than  that; 
Glastonbury  was  looking  backward;  this  is  looking  forward. 
I  would  have  come  10,000  miles  just  to  attend  this  service  and 
the  meeting  of  yesterday."  The  Canadian  bishops  said  that  they 
never  had  seen  or  expected  to  see  again  such  a  service.  Most 
of  the  American  bishops,  in  bidding  me  farewell,  said  that  they 
realized  now  for  the  first  time  the  representative  character  of 
the  Church  in  the  national  Capital;  and  one  of  the  most 
thoughtful  of  the  trustees  said  that  if  we  had  spent  $100,000 
in  advertising,  or  if  one  person  had  paid  the  whole  Cathedral 
debt,  $100,000,  it  would  not  have  accomplished  so  much  for 
the  Cathedral  as  this  one  service.  This  is  absolutely  true;  and 
when,  one  hour  after  the  service,  the  chill  and  cold  came  back, 
I  realized  more  than  ever  that  the  success  of  it  all  we  owe  to 
God  Himself,  and  ever  since  my  heart  has  been  full  of  praise 
and  thanksgiving  to  Him  for  His  favoring  Providence.  .  .  . 

November,  1903.  —  One  thought  has  been  brought  forcibly 
to  my  mind  by  the  events  of  the  past  fortnight.  People  often 
complain  that  Washingtonians  feel  no  sense  of  civil  responsi- 
bility as  citizens,  because  the  United  States  Government  cares 
for  everything  in  a  paternal  way,  or  of  religious  responsibility 
as  Churchmen.  This  is  perfectly  true,  but  the  disadvantage 
may  be  turned  into  great  advantage,  for  if  they  are  in  this 
apathetic  and  negative  state,  with  no  responsibility  for  govern- 
ment and  no  social  obligation  regarding  society,  then  their 
sympathies,  interest  and  sense  of  duty  can  be  enlisted  in  the 
building  up  of  the  Cathedral,  which  has  nothing  to  do  with 
government  help  or  state  control.  Then  this  will  become  an  object 
of  civic  as  well  as  religious  pride.     It  is  a  great  opportunity. 

Then  came  the  beginning  of  the  end  —  the  Bishop's  illness. 

A.  D.  1904. — The  year  opens  most  auspiciously.  Thank 
God  that  He  has  so  prospered  the  work.  The  accompanying 
financial    statement    shows    the    progress    made    and    tells    the 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL      383 

whole  story.  I  want  to  write  down  my  ideal  of  what  this 
Washington  Cathedral  should  be.  Owing  to  frequent  attacks 
of  illness  this  winter,  which  somehow  followed  after  the  sudden 
death  of  my  brother-in-law  and  then  my  son,  I  was  not  able  to 
do  all  that  I  expected  this  year.  But  through  God's  help  con- 
siderable progress  was  made. 

During  the  year  he  spent  much  money  in  advertising 
"which  brought  in  less  money  by  several  hundred  dol- 
lars' than  was  expended.  There  was  little  response  to 
his  attempt  to  reach  individual  parishes  throughout  the 
Church.  "The  Washington  Cathedral  is  now  everywhere 
recognized  as  belonging  to  the  national  Church,  but  the 
time  has  not  arrived  when  the  Church  at  large  feels  any 
responsibility  regarding  it." 

General  Convention  met  in  Boston  in  the  fall  of  1904. 
Bishop  Satterlee,  learning  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury was  to  be  present,  cast  around  for  some  adr.  which 
might  mark  his  visit  in  Washington.  With  naivete  the 
Bishop  writes:  "I  then  thought  that  when  he  came  he 
could  consecrate  the  Glastonbury  Cathedra;  but  that 
had  been  consecrated  already!'  A  fortnight  before  the 
Archbishop  came,  a  neighbor,  Mr.  Samuel  B.  Dean, 
"said  that  he  had  possessed  for  many  years  a  seventeenth 
century  Altar  Cross  of  Latten  Brass,  which  he  had  long 
desired  to  give  to  some  Church  in  memory  of  his  mother, 
Mrs.  Dean  of  Boston,  who  was  a  most  devout  Christian. 
The  next  day  he  showed  me  the  cross,  and  I  saw  instantly 
that  it  was  exactly  what  I  had  been  all  the  summer  look- 
ing for,  an  object  which  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
could  consecrate,  which  would  for  all  time  historically 
mark  his  visit  to  the  capital  of  the  United  States."  1 

1  The  Agnus  Dei  Cross  was  the  name  given  to  it.  "When  I  saw  the  cross  I 
instantly  noticed  that  it  was  a  rare  object  of  art,  not  only  of  historical  value  and 
beautiful  in  workmanship,  but  that  it  was  full  of  chastened  religious  sentiment 
and  symbols.  At  the  bottom  of  the  Cross  there  is  in  repousse  work  a  representa- 
tion of  the  lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  as  if  it  had  been  slain,  with  the  book 
of  the  seven  seals.  The  Cross  itself  is  plain,  for  the  body  of  the  Christ  is  no 
longer  on  the  Cross,  for  he  is  now  the  glorified  Christ  in  Heaven,  who  ever 
liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us." 

Bishop's  Journal  igoj  in  loco. 


384  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

On  Sunday  morning  there  was  early  celebration  at  the  Bish- 
op's Chapel,  then  the  Archbishop  celebrated  at  St.  John's, 
Bishop  Brent  preaching.  In  the  afternoon,  which  was  warm 
and  beautiful,  there  was  the  great  Christian  Unity  service  at 
the  Cathedral  Close.  The  Archbishop  drove  over  and  quietly 
planted  the  St.  Augustine's  oak.  Then  he  sat  in  the  Glaston- 
bury Cathedra  and  said  the  prayer  for  Christian  Unity.  He 
consecrated  the  Altar  Cross  on  the  Jerusalem  Altar  presented 
by  Mr.  Dean.  .  .  . 

While  sitting  in  the  Cathedra  and  talking  about  the  Glas- 
tonbury stones,  the  Archbishop  offered  to  give  stones  from  Can- 
terbury Cathedral  to  make  a  faldstool  for  the  Cathedral.  This 
was  a  delightful  surprise.  This  little  faldstool  afterwards  be- 
came a  le&ern,  given  by  the  Archbishop  in  memory  of  Stephen 
Langton,  and  illustrating  the  evolution  of  the  English  Bible. 
The  Canterbury  Ambon  then  became  a  great  pulpit,  almost 
all  made  of  stones  from  the  Bell  Harry  Tower  of  the  Cathe- 
dral. 

This  spring  I  have  been  in  constant  correspondence  with  Mr. 
Caroe,  the  architect  in  charge  of  Canterbury  Cathedral,  regard- 
ing the  Canterbury  Ambon.  I  saw  him  in  England  this  sum- 
mer, and  he  is  going  to  make  it  a  beautiful  work  of  art.  It  is 
to  be  made  of  stone  from  the  Bell  Harry  Central  Tower,  and 
to  be  given  by  the  Archbishop  in  memory  of  Stephen  Langton, 
his  sometime  predecessor,  who  led  the  Barons  when  they  wrung 
the  Magna  Charta  from  King  John.  As  the  Bible  is  the  charter 
of  all  liberty,  it  is  most  appropriate  that  this  Ambon  should 
commemorate  the  Magna  Charta.  The  Ambon  will  illustrate 
the  history  of  the  English  translations  of  the  Bible.  The  three 
bas  reliefs  will  illustrate  the  death  of  Bede,  the  giving  of  the 
Magna  Charta  at  Runnymede,  and  the  martyrdom  of  Tyndal. 
The  four  statuettes  will  be  Alfred  the  Great,  Wycliffe,  Bishop 
Andrewes  (A.V.),  and  Bishop  Westcott  (R.V.).  The  frieze  will 
be  of  Bibles,  each  with  the  date  of  revision. 

In  1905  the  Bishop,  during  the  summer  of  which  he  was 
in  Europe  for  treatment,  commissioned  his  chaplains, 
Rev.  Drs.  De  Vries  and  Bratenahl,  to  investigate  English 
choir  schools  preparatory  to  beginning  the  National 
Cathedral  School  for  Boys  which  was  under  way,  and  to 
study  the  constitutions  of  various  cathedrals. 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  385 

Just  how  many  years  of  his  life  were  exacted  as  interest 
on  the  Cathedral  mortgage  we  cannot  say,  but  without 
doubt  his  days  were  materially  shortened  by  the  burden 
voluntarily  assumed.  His  Record  reveals  what  he  held 
as  a  close  secret  from  all  except  those  who  stood  nearest 
to  him  and  even  they  knew  only  in  part  how  heavily  at 
times  he  moved.     But  freedom  came  at  last. 

Mrs.  Julian  James  wished  to  place  a  memorial  to  her  mother 
in  the  Cathedral.  I  suggested  that  she  should  pay  the  debt 
and  make  the  memorial  a  Cathedral  Land  Mark,  with  a  sun- 
dial, marking  not  only  the  hours  of  the  day,  but  the  seasons  of 
the  Christian  year.  The  suggestion  pleased  her.  Shortly  after 
I  received  a  letter  from  her  lawyer,  Mr.  William  Allen  Butler, 
of  New  York,  saying  Mrs.  Julian  James  would  contribute  the 
last  $50,000,  if  the  whole  debt  were  reduced  to  that  amount 
before  Thanksgiving  Day,  and  if  the  proposed  Land  Mark  were 
erected.  The  debt  at  this  time  was  $67,000.  At  once  I  set 
about  raising  the  $17,000.  The  response  was  most  prompt  and 
generous.  On  the  Monday  before  Thanksgiving  Day,  1905, 
Mr.  Butler  met  the  Cathedral  Trustees.  In  his  presence  the 
$67,000  notes  were  brought  out  and  canceled.  The  papers 
were  all  signed.  Then  all  arose,  when  I  had  a  short  Thanks- 
giving service  in  the  Board  Room  of  the  Riggs  Bank,  with 
collects  for  the  Cathedral,  for  Mrs.  Julian  James  and  those 
present.  Then  Mr.  Butler  handed  over  the  check  for  $50,000, 
and  the  Cathedral  Close  was  free!  On  Thanksgiving  Day  a  letter 
was  read  in  all  the  churches  of  the  Diocese  announcing  the  fad:. 

[Note.  —  No  one  can  ever  appreciate  what  it  is  to  be  deliv- 
ered from  this  burden.  I  feel  like  one  released  from  prison, 
after  having  been  in  confinement  seven  years,  from  1898  to 
1905.  Once  more  I  feel  free.  I  shall  ever  associate  the  37th 
Psalm  with  this  period  of  my  life.  How  often  have  I  read  it 
and  been  encouraged  by  its  promises  that  if  we  hope  in  the  Lord 
we  shall  possess  the  land.  I  wonder  now  when  I  look  back  to 
the  autumn  of  1898  how  I  could  ever  have  had  the  courage  to 
face  the  financial  problem.  I  could  not  have  done  it  without 
God's  grace.  And  what  wonders  God  hath  wrought  in  these 
seven  years!  We  have  never  failed  to  meet  the  interest  promptly 
on  the  very  day  of  the  semi-annual  payments,  and  now  the 
whole   debt   is   paid.] 


3  86  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

With  characteristic  energy  the  Bishop  bent  his  mind  on 
the  next  step.  Many  men  would  have  felt  that  enough 
had  been  done  by  the  First  Bishop  of  Washington  and 
that  his  successor  would  have  to  take  up  the  burden 
where  he  laid  it  down.  But  Bishop  Satterlee  was  by 
nature  a  constructor.  When  circumstances  forbade  him 
to  build  the  Cathedral  itself,  he  busied  himself  with  the 
things  that  were  to  furnish  the  building  when  in  the 
course  of  time  it  came.  "Now  that  the  debt  was  paid, 
a  work  uprose  at  once  which  I  never  expected  to  do  in  my 
lifetime,  the  building  of  the  Cathedral  itself."  Had  his 
been  a  self-reliant  nature  there  would  have  been  nothing 
remarkable  in  his  persistent  plunging  into  a  new  under- 
taking like  this.  One  of  his  chaplains  x  wrote  of  him: 
"He  was  the  least  self-confident  of  men,  but  at  the  same 
time  was  willing  and  eager  to  undertake  the  most  stu- 
pendous tasks.  Very  often  his  life  was  evidently  a 
struggle  and  a  burden.  In  his  prayers  with  us,  his 
Chaplains  and  young  priests,  he  would  frequently  break 
silence  by  exclaiming,  'O,  Lord,  I  am  oppressed.  Under- 
take for  me.'  He  never  faltered  after  he  had  seen  his 
vision,  but  he  did  sometimes  go  heavily.  This  I  think  is 
what  drew  us  so  closely  to  him.'3 

The  importance  of  the  best  possible  design  suggested 
the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  experts: 

I  called  the  Board  together  and  they  agreed  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  following  advisory  committee:  (i)  Mr.  Edwin  A. 
Burnham;  (2)  Mr.  Charles  F.  McKim;  (both  of  these  gentle- 
men were  members  of  the  Park  Commission  appointed  by 
Congress  to  report  plans  for  the  "lay  out"  of  the  future  Wash- 
ington, and  who  brought  in  the  celebrated  report  on  this  subjecT); 
(3)  Sir  Casper  Purdon  Clarke,  the  Director  of  the  New  York 
Metropolitan  Museum;  (4)  Professor  Charles  F.  Moore,  Pro- 
fessor of  Gothic  Architecture  in  Harvard  University;  (5)  Mr. 
Bernard  Green,  Superintendent  of  the  Congressional  Library. 
This  advisory  committee  had  two  meetings  on  the  Cathedral 
grounds,  in  February  and  on  May  6th,  and  they  reported:    (1) 

1  The  Rev.  P.  M.  Rhinelander. 


From  the  Architect's  Drawing 

THE     NATIONAL     CATHEDRAL 

Interior 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     387 

that  the  best  site  for  the  Cathedral  was  not  where  I  had  ex- 
pected, at  the  corner  of  Massachusetts  and  Wisconsin  Avenues, 
but  on  the  highest  part  of  the  Cathedral  Close;  (2)  that  there 
ought  to  be  no  competition  whatever;  that  the  primary  con- 
sideration was  not  the  plan,  but  the  man,  for  the  personality 
of  the  architect,  his  religious  enthusiasm,  his  creative  ability, 
his  experience,  management,  etc.,  were  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance. In  addition  to  this,  Mr.  Charles  McKim  and  Mr.  Burn- 
ham,  in  a  strong  letter,  preserved  in  the  Cathedral  archives, 
expressed  with  great  emphasis  their  judgment  that  to  accord 
with  the  Government  buildings  of  Washington,  the  Cathedral 
ought  to  be  built  in  the  style  of  the  classic  Renaissance. 

The  Constitution  was  thoroughly  revised,1  making  the 
Cathedral  "the  Mother  Church  of  the  Diocese,  maintain- 
ing and  developing  under  the  pastoral  direction  of  the 
Bishop  and  the  Dean,  his  Vicar,  the  fourfold  work  of  a 
Cathedral,  viz.: 

Worship,  under  the  guidance  of  a  Precentor; 
Missions,  under  the  guidance  of  a  Missioner; 
Education,  under  the  guidance  of  a  Chancellor; 
Charity,  under  the  guidance  of  an  Almoner." 

There  was  no  haste  in  the  Bishop's  endeavor  to  work 
out  his  ideal.  When  Messrs.  Bodley  and  Vaughan  were 
selected  as  architects  they  were  left  unhampered. 

The  Bishop  and  Chapter  did  not  limit  the  architects,  either 
as  to  the  cost  of  the  Cathedral  or  the  time  in  which  it  is  to  be 
built.  The  architects  were  simply  asked  to  embody  their  best 
and  most  mature  thought  in  the  Cathedral  design,  even  if  it 
will  take  a  hundred  years  to  build  it,  and  generations  to  pay 
for  the  work,  as  it  is  gradually  done. 

Thus,  the  building  of  Washington  Cathedral,  from  beginning 
to  end,  is  a  work  of  faith.  "Except  the  Lord  build  the  House, 
their  labor  is  but  lost  that  build  it." 

In  the  summer  of  1906  the  important  question  of  the 
choice  of  the  architect  came  up.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  report  in  the  autumn. 

1  See  Appendix  II. 


388  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

As  I  was  going  to  Europe,  it  was  finally  resolved  that  Dr. 
Rives  and  the  rest  should  correspond  with  architects  in  America, 
while  I  was  to  see  architects  in  Europe.  We  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing plan:  (i)  as  Gothic  architecture  requires  special  study, 
we  were  to  limit  ourselves  only  to  Gothic  architects.  (2)  We 
were  to  confine  ourselves  to  those  who  could  send  in  plans  of 
work  actually  completed  by  them.  This  cut  off  all  who  could 
draw  beautiful  plans  but  had  had  no  actual  experience  in  Gothic 
construction.  (3)  We  were  to  correspond  both  with  English 
and  American  architects. 

The  Bishop  took  his  task  very  seriously.  Crossing  the 
ocean  he  "read  and  re-read  with  great  care  the  valuable 
volume  on  Gothic  architecture  in  England  by  Francis 
Bond,  and  made  notes  not  only  on  this  but  regarding  the 
points  in  the  Cathedrals  he  had  seen  and  tried  to  study' 
—  twenty-five  cathedrals  and  three  abbeys  in  England, 
seven  in  Germany,  three  in  America,  ten  in  Italy,  seven 
in  France,  one  in  Spain  and  one  in  Russia.  "I  once 
lectured,"  he  writes,  "for  four  years  in  my  parish,  once 
a  week  in  winter,  on  the  subject  of  architecture  in  general, 
and  I  never  forgot  the  lessons  and  the  information  I  thus 
gained.  It  has  been  invaluable  to  me  now.':  He  con- 
ferred with  various  English  bishops  and  saw  a  few  archi- 
tects, "but  my  time  was  too  limited,  and  the  two  or  three 
conversations  I  had  with  Mr.  Bodley  were  so  satisfactory 
and  the  reports  I  had  of  him  were  so  unanimous  as  to 
his  being  the  first  Gothic  architect  of  England  to-day, 
that  I  really  cared  to  go  no  further,  especially  as  Mr. 
Bodley  said  that  he  would  be  willing  to  design  our  Cathe- 
dral in  partnership  with  an  American  architect,  and  if 
the  plan  was  approved  by  the  Chapter,  to  build  it.,! 

In  August  the  Bishop  returned  to  America  and  several 
meetings  of  the  Committee  resulted  in  their  recommenda- 
tion to  the  Chapter  of  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Henry 
Vaughan  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  Mr.  George  F.  Bodley, 
R.  A.,  of  London,  England. 

Odober  10,  1906.  —  On  this  date,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Chapter, 
after  one  hour's  discussion,  Messrs.  Henry  Vaughan  and  George 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL     389 

F.  Bodley  were  unanimously  chosen  as  the  architects,  and  a 
committee  prepared  at  once  a  telegram  to  Mr.  Bodley  and  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Vaughan,  announcing  the  fact.  Both  accepted 
at  once.  Mr.  Vaughan  came  to  Washington.  I  had  a  long 
conference  with  him,  and  finally  Mr.  Warner,  my  secretary, 
came  in  and  took  a  stenographic  report  of  our  conversation. 
After  this  I  added  several  other  points  to  the  letter,  forwarding 
two  copies  to  Mr.  Vaughan,  who  mailed  one  to  London  for  Mr. 
Bodley.  Mr.  Bodley  sailed  from  England  November  21st, 
arriving  in  Washington  about  November  30th.  As  I  was  away 
that  day  and  he  was  to  sail  back  on  the  same  ship,  the  "Oce- 
anic," on  December  4th,  this  only  allowed  us  practically  three 
days.  He  came  with  his  first  assistant  architect,  Mr.  Hare.  I 
dined  with  Messrs.  Vaughan,  Bodley  and  Hare  at  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Rives'  on  November  30th.  They  had  all  spent  the  day  on  the 
Cathedral    Close,    studying    its    features. 

December  /,  1906.  —  On  Saturday  both  architects  and  Mr. 
Hare  met  the  Chapter  at  the  Bishop's  House,  with  the  Cathe- 
dral relief  model  in  the  centre  of  the  room.  Then  Mr.  Vaughan 
read  the  letter  I  had  written  to  the  architects  (the  type-written 
report  of  my  conversation  with  Mr.  Vaughan)  together  with 
such  suggestions  and  criticisms  as  Mr.  Bodley  desired  to  make. 
Mr.  Bodley  then  made  a  long  verbal  explanation  and  criticism, 
saying  that  with  these  modifications  he  accepted  the  whole 
letter  as  a  working  basis,  if  the  Cathedral  Chapter  agreed. 
They  thereupon  agreed  unanimously  after  making  a  few  in- 
quiries. This  was  most  remarkable.  To  me  it  was  nothing  less 
than  a  proof  of  Divine  guidance.  I  could  scarcely  have  believed, 
six  months  ago,  not  only  that  the  architects  should  have  been 
the  unanimous  choice  of  the  Board,  but  that  the  architects, 
Chapter  and  Bishop  should  have  been  of  one  mind  regarding 
the  whole  general  character  of  a  Gothic  Cathedral. 

The  plans  arrived  in  June,  1907.  The  Chapter  met 
immediately  and  — 

the  plans  were  displayed  for  consideration  and  Mr.  Vaughan 
spent  two  hours  in  explaining  them.  I  was  prepared  somewhat 
for  the  interior,  because  of  a  resemblance  to  the  rejected  plan 
of  Mr.  Bodley  for  Liverpool  Cathedral,  which  I  first  saw  in  Mr. 
Bodley's   London    office    and    which    first    attracted    me   to   him. 


39o  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

But  the  exterior  was  a  delightful  surprise.  It  far  exceeded  all 
my  expedations,  for  I  knew  that  Mr.  Bodley  was  severe  and 
almost  a  purist  in  taste;  but  this  exterior  satisfied  me  in  every 
respecl:.  It  more  than  fulfilled  my  expectations,  and  the  view 
of  the  high  windows  of  the  apse  on  the  outside  was  like  a  spring 
song;  and  although  six  weeks  have  now  passed,  the  whole 
Cathedral,  inside  and  outside,  is  as  great  a  delight  to  me  as 
ever.  The  only  criticism  as  yet  which  I  or  any  one  has  to  find 
with  the  plans  is  that  the  west  towers  seem  not  equal  to  the 
rest;    but  we  have  not  yet  seen  the  perspective  drawings  of  the 

west  front. 

We  had  expeded  to  consider  the  plans  all  summer,  but  after 
considering  them  carefully,  the  Chapter  adopted  them  three 
days  after  they  had  first  seen  them. 

The  Cathedral  Council  was  at  once  organized  and  there 
was  a  general  approval  of  the  plans  by  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  the  Diocese  who  saw  them.  In  all  this  the  Master 
Builder  saw  not  his  own  achievements  but  God's  manifest 
working: 

This   sequence  of  events  is   remarkable,   so  much   so  that  it 
must  have  been  providential,  and  I  can  only  marvel  at  God's 
leading.     In   answer  to   prayer   He   has   uplifted   the   Cathedral 
far    above    our    most    sanguine    expectations,   and   accomplished 
results  that  I  never  expeded  to  see  or  dreamed  of  seeing  in  my 
own   lifetime:     (i)  The   Cathedral   land   was    bought   and    paid 
for  in   seven   years,    1898   to    1907;     (2)  the   Cathedral   Schools 
for  Boys  and  Girls  were  both  ereded  in  that  time;    (3)  In  that 
time  the  sacred  historical  objects  gathered  out  in  the  Cathedral 
Close   interested   the   whole   Church;     (4)  one   month   after   the 
debt   was    paid   we   were    able   to    secure   the   most    prominent 
architects    of   America    as    an    advisory    commission;     (5)  that 
advisory  commission   reported   against   a   "  competition ,]    unani- 
mously;   (6)  the  Cathedral  Committee  appointed  by  the  Chap- 
ter were  of  one  mind  as  to  the  American  architect,  Mr.  Vaughan; 
(7)  I  was  unexpectedly  enabled  to  go  to  Europe  to  see  English 
architects  and  Mr.  Bodley  unexpededly  told  me   Mr.  Vaughan 
had  been  his  pupil;    (8)  the  Cathedral  Committee,  at  Northeast 
Harbor,    determined    to    recommend    to    the    Chapter    Messrs. 
Bodley   and   Vaughan    unanimously,    and    I    wrote   long   letters 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  391 

to  each  member  of  the  Chapter,  giving  detailed  reasons;  (9) 
the  Chapter,  after  careful  consideration,  appointed  Messrs. 
Vaughan  and  Bodley  unanimously;  (10)  Mr.  Vaughan  and  I 
agreed  on  the  plan  of  the  Cathedral,  and  sent  copy  of  our  con- 
versation to  Mr.  Bodley;  (11)  when  Messrs.  Vaughan  and 
Bodley  came  to  Washington  and  agreed  to  take  this  letter  as  a 
basis  for  plans,  the  Chapter  agreed  unanimously;  (12)  when 
the  plans  were  completed  they  were  unanimously  accepted  both 
by  the  Cathedral  Chapter  and  the  Cathedral  Council.  The 
Lord  hath  done  marvellous  things.  I  am  bewildered  when  I 
think  how  He  has  brought  so  many  strong  men  of  many  minds 
to  agree  so  perfectly  in  the  building  of  His  house.  Surely  this 
is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Who  maketh  men  to  be  of  one 
mind  in  an  house. 

The  Private  Record  contains  but  two  more  entries,  the 
first  of  which  closes  this  chapter  and  the  last  opens  the  next: 

Cazenovia,  N.  Y.>  July,  1907.  —  The  west  front  has  arrived; 
like  the  rest  of  the  Cathedral  it  has  great  inspiration;  first, 
in  the  massive  simplicity  of  the  two  towers.  I  have  always 
longed  to  see  a  Gothic  "campanile";  here  it  is  most  unexpect- 
edly; second,  in  the  grandeur  of  the  central  arch  and  two  side 
arches.  This  makes  the  western  facade  of  Washington  more 
majestic  than  that  of  an  English  cathedral  —  yes  —  Continental 
cathedral,  also.  The  great  doorways  have  more  than  the  cav- 
ernous depth  of  Rheims  and  Amiens,  without  the  ["masked] 
portal,  which  always  seems  to  me  construclion  for  effecl  —  a 
trick  of  the  trade.  The  size  and  proportions  and  measure- 
ment of  parts  are  all  right,  but  spiritually  there  is  disproportion. 
The  facade  is  too  austere  and  too  prisonlike.  It  does  not  invite 
an  entrance  to  God's  House.  Again,  the  towers  have  buttresses 
climbing  to  the  top,  an  English  fault,  which  makes  the  west 
towers  of  York,  Canterbury  and  Westminster  look  clumsy.  I 
have  written  Mr.  Bodley  saying  (1)  that  we  do  not  want  but- 
tresses higher  than  the  eaves  of  roof;  we  want  the  soaring  cam- 
panile line  of  Durham  and  Lincoln,  not  the  uncertain,  wavy 
outline  of  York;  (2)  we  want  a  flight  of  steps  before  the  West 
front,  to  take  away  the  semblance  of  the  West  front  standing 
on  legs;  (3)  we  want  a  different  treatment  of  the  gable.  This 
is  the  Cathedral   itself,   not  the  protection    (like   the  towers)   or 


392  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

sheltering  entrance,  like  the  arches.  The  gable  ought  to  be 
decorated  like  the  tops  of  the  towers.  It  ought  to  blend  the 
note  of  welcome  with  that  of  awe.  I  have  suggested  a  bas 
relief  of  the  Cleansing  of  the  Temple  above  the  central  arch, 
and  have  written  Mr.  Bodley  a  letter  about  it. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE    CITY   WHICH    HATH    FOUNDATIONS 

Blessed  City,  heavenly  Salem, 
Visions  dear  of  peace  and  love, 
Who,  of  living  stones  up-builded, 
Art  the  joy  of  heaven  above, 
And  with  angel  cohorts  circled, 
As  a  bride  to  earth  dost  move! 

Many  a  blow  and  biting  sculpture 
Fashioned  well  those  stones  elecl 
In  their  places  now  compacl 
By  the  heavenly  Architecl, 
Who  therewith  hath  willed  for  ever 
That  his  palace  should  be  decked. 

SEVENTH    CENTURY    HYMN 

TWILIGHT  PARK,  August,  1907.  —  Last  June,  the  mo- 
ment it  was  decided  that  the  laying  of  the  Foundation 
Stone  was  to  be  on  September  29th,  the  Feast  of  St. 
Michael  and  All  Angels,  I  wrote  to  Herbert  Clark,  who  sent 
word  to  Antoine  Thomas  Gelat,  dragoman,  to  procure  a  stone 
from  the  field  behind  the  Church  of  the  Nativity,  Bethlehem. 
This  he  did  in  July.  At  the  same  time  he  had  the  scene  photo- 
graphed, and  the  endorsement  of  the  United  States  Consul, 
Mr.  Wallace,  that  the  stone  or  stones  (for  being  unable  to  send 
a  single  large  stone  to  America  before  September  1st,  he  was 
obliged  to  send  seven  smaller  ones  in  seven  different  boxes) 
[had  been  procured].  These  came  so  speedily  that  they  have 
reached  Washington  in  time.  These  were  set  in  a  large  granite 
block  to  enclose  them  and  prevent  them  from  being  crushed  by 
the  immense  weight  of  the  altar  and  reredos  above  them.  They 
are  on  the  under  side  of  the  granite,  with  the  sentence  "The 
Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us"  engraved  upon  them. 

These  are  the  closing  words  of  Bishop  Satterlee's 
Private  Record.  The  detailed  story  of  the  whole  occasion 
is  graphically  told  by  Canon  De  Vries  in  The  Foundation 
Stone  Book. 


394  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

This  year  the  International  Convention  of  the  Brother- 
hood of  St.  Andrew  was  arranged  to  meet  in  Washington 
immediately  before  General  Convention  convened  in 
Richmond  (October  2).  Bishop  Satterlee  seized  the 
opportunity  thus  afforded  to  give  the  Church  at  large  a 
share  in  an  event  bound  to  be  historic,  the  laying  in 
place  of  the  first  stone  of  the  National  Cathedral.  All 
the  preliminary  anxieties  and  labors  were  over.  The 
plans  of  the  stately  Gothic  building,  destined  to  rear  its 
walls  much  sooner  than  anyone  dared  to  hope,  had 
arrived  and  received  the  approval  of  the  Cathedral 
Council.  Every  detail  for  carrying  through  a  complicated 
function  had  been  attended  to,  every  exigency  as  far  as 
possible  forestalled. 

"The  one  requisite  is  fair  weather;  with  foul  the  Foundation 
Stone  can  be  laid;  there  is  a  roof  over  the  platform,  and  all 
plans  are  worked  out  for  such  a  contingency;  and  Convention 
Hall  is  engaged  for  the  Brotherhood  service;  but  the  beauty 
and  dignity  of  the  service  would  be  marred  and  spoilt,  and  the 
arduous  preparations  of  a  whole  summer  count  for  little. 

"  Saturday  breaks  dark  and  threatening.  Soon  after  the  close 
of  the  great  corporate  communion  of  the  Brotherhood  at  the 
Church  of  the  Epiphany,  the  downfall  begins,  and  the  weather 
reports  are  ominous.  At  eleven,  according  to  promise,  the 
weather  bureau  calls  up  the  Bishop's  House  by  telephone,  and 
announces:  'Rain  Saturday  and  Sunday/  So  it  seems  to 
man;    but  God  may  arrange  otherwise. 

"All  day  long  the  rain  falls,  and  continues  until  all  retire 
for  the  night.     Such  is  the  outlook  when  Saturday  ends." 

In  the  meantime,  with  the  faith  of  a  little  child, 
Bishop  Satterlee  was  praying  for  fair  weather  in  his  room 
alone,  and  in  his  oratory  with  his  guests.  He  was  con- 
fident the  storm  would  pass.  Had  he  not  prayed  before 
in  like  circumstances  and  had  not  God  answered?  Clouds 
had  dispersed,  cold  had  given  way  to  warmth,  where  it 
was  to  God's  glory  that  these  things  should  be.  Even 
when  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  and  All  Angels,  the  very 
day  itself,  broke  in  storm  he  believed  all  would  be  well. 


THE  CITY  WHICH  HATH  FOUNDATIONS       395 

Nor  was  he  wrong.  By  the  time  the  crowds  were  making 
their  way  to  Mount  St.  Alban's  the  sun  was  shining,  and 
the  last  clouds  were  scudding  away  in  defeat.  Later, 
rain  threatened  but  forebore  to  intrude. 

Some  10,000  people  gathered  at  the  appointed  place. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  W.  R.  Huntington  said  afterwards: 

'  Probably  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of  those  who  gath- 
ered at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  were  non-Church-goers. 
It  was  the  ecclesiastical  hospitality  which  somehow  the  word 
'Cathedral'  suggests  that  attracted  them.  In  all  of  our  large 
cities,  there  is  a  steadily  increasing  population  of  unattached 
Christians.  They  live,  for  the  most  part,  concealed  in  'flats/ 
and  are  exceedingly  inaccessible  to  the  shepherds  of  souls.  I 
believe  that  the  cathedrals  Which  are  springing  up  all  over  the 
country  have  a  special  ministry  to  these  lost  sheep,  and  will 
draw  them  out  of  their  hiding  places  more  effectively  than  any 
magnet  that  has  yet  been  tried.  This  is  the  thought  that  I  car- 
ried away  with  me  from  the  Mount."  l 

The  laymen  of  eminence  present  included  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  "the  Cathedral  Chapter  and  their  families;  the 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States;  several  of  the  Cabinet; 
the  Commissioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia;  representa- 
tives of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  of  the  Senate,  the  House,  the 
Judiciary,  the  Army,  the  Navy;  the  Presidents  of  the  Brother- 
hood of  St.  Andrew  in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada,  Mr. 
James  L.  Houghteling,  its  founder,  and  great  throngs  of  Brother- 
hood men  from  the  United  States,  Canada,  and  other  parts  of 
the  world,  and  59  lay  deputies  to  the  General  Convention."2 

Fifty-five  American  diocesan  and  missionary  bishops, 
three  bishops  of  the  Church  of  England  —  the  Bishop  of 
London  (Dr.  Winnington  Ingram),3  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Alban's  (Dr.  Jacob),  the  Secretary  of  the  S.  P.  G.  (Dr. 
Montgomery),  three  Canadian  bishops,  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  the  West  Indies  (Dr.  Nuttall)  together  with  a 
great  concourse  of  presbyters  of  the  Church  participated 

1   The  Foundation  Stone  Book,  p.  140.  '  Ibid.y  p.  43. 

'  During  his  visit  on  the  American  continent  the  Bishop  of  London,  always  a 
lover  of  children  and  they  of  him,  earned  from  a  little  girl  the  new  non-ecclesiasti- 
cal title  of  "the  twinkly-eyed  man!" 


396  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

in  the  services  of  the  day.  The  great  moment  was  when 
the  Foundation  Stone  was  set.  The  mallet  used  was  the 
same  with  which  President  George  Washington  laid  the 
corner-stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States,  Septem- 
ber 18,  1793. 

"  Reaching  the  level  and  proceeding  to  the  site  of  the  altar  the 
Bishop  and  his  companions  passed  down  into  the  great  pit  into 
which  the  Foundation  Stone  was  descending.  Before  the  stone 
reached  the  bottom  its  descent  was  arrested,  the  Bishop  laid 
the  mortar,  and  made  in  it  at  centre  and  four  corners  the  sign 
of  the  cross,  with  the  point  of  the  trowel.  Then  the  stone 
was  set  in  place,  the  Bishop  struck,  and  so  proved  it,  three 
times  with  the  Washington  mallet  and  in  the  Name  of  the  ever 
blessed  Trinity.  Then,  just  as  the  sun  burst  from  the  clouds 
gloriously,  he  ascended  to  the  level,  made  the  declaration  of 
dedication,  and  bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  little  procession  as 
before,  returned  to  his  place."  * 

It  was  noted  that  during  the  ceremony  an  American 
eagle  hovered  over  the  spot  high  in  the  heavens,  and 
"one  of  poetic  feeling  and  simple  faith  observed  that 
one  could  almost  see  the  Archangel  and  his  hosts  holding 
back  the  clouds  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  God's  people. " 2 

This  letter  to  Mr.  Edgar  Priest  who  had  charge  of  the 
music  illustrates  the  eucharistic  note  in  the  Bishop's 
character.     He  knew  how  to  praise  God: 

TO   MR.    PRIEST 

061.  II,  1907.  —  We  undertook  with  great  timidity  the  hav- 
ing a  Te  Deum  sung  in  the  open  air.  We  felt  that  the  Te 
Deum  was  the  canticle  of  all  canticles  to  be  sung  on  this  great 
occasion,  but  we  feared  if  it  was  not  sung  effectively  it  would  be 
an  anti-climax  instead  of  a  climax:  but  you  had  your  choirs 
and  the  band  so  perfectly  in  hand  that  it  proved  all  that  we 
could  desire. 

May  God  bless  you  and  give  you  His  own  reward  for  your 
faithful  and  successful  efforts  in  going  through  the  great  cathe- 
dral services. 

1  The  Foundation  Stone  Book,  p.  46.  2  Ibid.,  p.  44. 


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THE  CITY  WHICH  HATH  FOUNDATIONS       397 

Two  addresses  were  given  —  a  greeting  by  President 
Roosevelt  and  a  salutation  by  the  Bishop  of  London. 
The  President  said: 

Bishop  Satterlee,  and  you,  my  friends  and  fellow  country- 
men, and  you,  our  guests:  I  have  but  one  word  of  greeting  to 
you  to-day  and  to  wish  you  God-speed  in  the  work  begun  this 
noon.  The  salutation  is  to  be  delivered  by  our  guest,  the 
Bishop  of  London,  who  has  a  right  to  speak  to  us  because  he  has 
shown  in  his  life  that  he  treats  high  office  as  high  office  should 
alone  be  treated,  either  in  Church  or  State,  and  above  all,  in  a 
democracy  such  as  ours  —  simply  as  giving  a  chance  to  render 
service.  If  office  is  accepted  by  any  man  for  its  own  sake  and 
because  of  the  honor  it  is  felt  to  confer,  he  accepts  it  to  his 
own  harm  and  to  the  infinite  harm  of  those  whom  he  ought  to 
serve.  Its  sole  value  comes  in  the  State,  but  above  all  its  sole 
value  comes  in  the  Church,  if  it  is  seized  by  the  man  who  holds 
it  as  giving  the  chance  to  do  yet  more  useful  work  for  the 
people  whom  he  serves.  I  greet  you  here,  Bishop  Ingram, 
because  you  have  used  your  office  in  the  aid  of  mankind;  and 
because  while  you  have  served  all,  you  have  realized  that  the 
greatest  need  of  service  was  for  those  to  whom  least  has  been 
given  in  this  world. 

I  believe  so  implicitly  in  the  good  that  will  be  done  by  and 
through  this  Cathedral,   Bishop  Satterlee,  because  I  know  that 
you  and  those  with  you,  the  people  of  your  Church,  the  people 
of  your  kindred  Churches,  to  one  of  which  I  belong,  are  grow- 
ing  more   and   more   to   realize   that   they   must   show   by   their 
lives  how  well  they  appreciate  the  truth  of  the  text  that  they 
shall  be  judged  by  their  fruits.     More  and  more  we  have  grown 
to  realize  that  the  worth  of  the  professions  of  the  men  of  any 
creed   must  largely   be  determined   by  the  conduct  of  the   men 
making   those   professions;    that   conduct   is   the   touchstone   by 
which  we  must  test  their  character  and  their  services.     While 
there  is  much  that  is  evil  in  the  times,  I  want  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  the  facl  that  it  was  a  good  many  centuries  ago  that  the 
Latin   hymn  was  composed,  which   said   that  the  world  is  very 
evil  and  that  the  times  were  growing  late.     The  times  are  evil; 
that  is,  there  is  much  that  is  evil  in  them.     It  would  be  to  our 
shame   and   discredit   if  we   failed   to   recognise   that   evil;     it   we 
wrapped    ourselves    in    the    mantle    of   a    foolish    optimism    and 


398  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

failed  to  war  with  heart  and  strength  against  the  evil.  It  would 
be  equally  to  our  discredit  if  we  sank  back  in  sullen  pessimism 
and  declined  to  strive  for  good  because  we  feared  the  strength 
of  evil.  There  is  much  evil;  there  is  much  good,  too;  and  one 
of  the  good  things  is  that  more  and  more  we  must  realize  that 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  real,  Christian  fellowship  among  men 
of  different  creeds,  and  that  the  real  field  for  rivalry  among  and 
between  the  creeds  comes  in  the  rivalry  of  the  endeavor  to  see 
which  can  render  best  service  to  mankind,  which  can  do  the 
work  of  the  Lord  best  by  doing  His  work  for  the  people  best. 
I  thank  you  for  giving  me  a  chance  to  say  this  word  of  greet- 
ing to-day. 

The  Bishop  of  London  followed : 

Mr.  President,  fellow  Bishops,  and  brethren  of  the  clergy  and 
of  the  laity:  I  must  first,  on  behalf  of  this  vast  assembly,  thank 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  multi- 
farious duties,  for  being  present  with  us  to-day  and  giving  us 
those  burning  words  of  encouragement  and  inspiration.  And 
may  I,  on  behalf  of  myself  and  of  the  visitors  here  to-day, 
thank  you,  Mr.  President,  for  those  words  of  encouragement 
which  you  spoke  to  me  which  will  send  me  back  across  the 
sea  inspired  for  my  work? 

But  I  come  to  deliver  a  salutation  from  across  the  seas  to 
you,  our  brethren,  here  on  this  great  day.  I  think  one  of 
the  historic  scenes  that  I  remember  best  was  when  Archbishop 
Benson  came  down  at  a  time  of  great  trouble  in  Wales  and  he 
said  these  words:  "I  come  from  the  steps  of  St.  Augustine,  to 
tell  you  that  by  the  benediction  of  God  we  will  not  stand  by 
and  see  you  disinherited/'  I  cannot  say  that  I  come  from  the 
steps  of  St.  Augustine  to-day  —  you  had  here  a  few  years  ago 
the  successor  of  St.  Augustine  himself — but  I  do  bring  you 
here,  with  all  the  love  from  the  old  country,  a  present  from  the 
shrine  of  St.  Augustine  which  will  be  part  of  your  Cathedral 
when  it  is  fully  complete.  I  come  as  the  successor  of  St.  Augus- 
tine's companion,  Mellitus,  to  bring  you  from  the  old  diocese 
of  London,  of  which  one  day  you  were  a  part,  a  real  message 
of  love   and   God-speed   to-day. 

Now,  it  may  be  asked,  why  do  we,  who  have  to  battle  so 
much  with  all  the  present  evil  and  wrong,  why  is  it  that  we 
value  so  much  these  historical  links?     Why  should  a  bishop  of 


THE  CITY  WHICH   HATH   FOUNDATIONS       399 

London  at  a  time  like  this  cross  the  sea?  For  three  reasons: 
First,  because  ours  is  an  historical  religion.  Our  religion  consists 
in  the  belief  that  at  a  certain  time,  at  a  certain  place,  at  a  little 
spot  on  this  world's  surface,  the  Son  of  God  came  down  from 
Heaven  to  us.  That  is  the  Christian  religion.  It  is  belief,  not 
in  a  good  man  named  Jesus  Christ  doing  anything,  but  in  the 
sacrifice  and  manifestation  of  God  Himself.  And  if  that  hap- 
pened, if  that  is  an  historical  fad:,  then  we  must  value,  you 
must  value,  every  link  that  historically  binds  you  to  that  great 
historical  fad:  on  which  all  our  faith  stands,  and  you  can  not 
afford  in  America,  you  do  not  want  to  afford,  to  break  that 
golden  chain.  That  glorious  Atlantic  cable  which  binds  you 
to  Palestine  lay  for  more  than  a  thousand  years  across  the 
British  Isles,  and  we  in  those  British  Isles  had  the  honor  of 
being  the  means  by  which  that  golden  chain  was  brought  to 
you.  And  if  that  is  true  of  the  Christian  religion,  I  thank  God 
we  are,  as  the  President  says,  united  in  the  unity  of  the  faith 
—  every  Christian  denomination  —  far  more  than  the  world 
believes. 

If  that  is  true  of  Christianity  as  a  religion,  it  is  especially 
true  —  and  it  gives  my  second  reason  for  being  here  —  of  the 
great  Anglican  Communion.  We  of  the  Anglican  Communion 
take  our  stand  upon  history.  When  some  one  says  that  the 
Church  of  England  was  founded  by  Henry  the  Eighth,  I  ask 
how  it  comes,  then,  that  the  Bishops  of  London  have  lived  at 
Fulham  Palace  for  thirteen  hundred  years,  and  why  it  is  that 
one  of  the  oldest  continuous  pieces  of  property  possessed  by  any 
one  in  the  whole  of  England  is  the  estate  of  Tillingham,  owned 
by  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  And,  therefore,  our  great  appeal  in 
the  Anglican  Communion  is  to  history.  We  hold  to  the  old 
historic  faith  with  which  we  were  entrusted.  We  stand  for 
freedom.  One  of  the  most  glorious  sentences  in  English  history 
is  that  sentence  in  the  Great  Charter,  "The  Church  of  England 
shall  be  free."  We  stand  for  freedom  of  thought,  freedom  of 
study.  We  stand  for  historic  ministry,  and  we  stand  for  an 
open  Bible,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  that  present  which  I 
bring  to  you  across  the  seas  is  so  appropriate,  because  it  depicts 
in  that  ambon  or  pulpit  a  great  Archbishop,  at  the  head  of  the 
barons,  bringing  the  Magna  Charta  to  King  John.  It  is  made 
of  stone  from  Canterbury  Cathedral,  the  shrine  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, and    it    depicts    the    great    fight    for  an    open    Bible   which 


400  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

was  at  last  victorious.  Therefore,  we  could  bring  you  nothing 
which  so  speaks  in  stone  what  the  Anglican  Communion  stands 
for,  and  that  present  I  bring  you  from  Canterbury  to-day. 

Lastly,  we  value  these  historical  links  because  in  the  teeth 
of  infinite  difficulties  my  predecessors,  the  bishops  of  London, 
tried  to  do  their  duty  to  the  infant  American  Church.  As  the 
work  comes  on  in  more  detail  I  think  I  can  interest  you  by  cer- 
tain documents,  some  of  which,  Mr.  President,  I  have  shown 
you,  by  which  it  will  be  seen  with  what  loving  care  those  old 
bishops  of  London  tried  to  do  their  duty  to  this  infant  Church. 
Therefore,  and  this  is  the  third  reason,  it  is  appropriate  I  should 
speak  this  message  as  the  Bishop  of  London,  because  of  how 
much  they  would  have  rejoiced  to-day  at  the  laying  of  this 
Foundation  Stone  of  what  is  to  be  one  of  the  most  glorious 
cathedrals  in  the  Anglican  Communion.  Therefore,  I  give  you 
my  salutation  because,  as  the  President  says,  we  fight  against 
wrong,  against  tyranny,  against  evil.  We  fight  to  relieve  the 
poor  and  aid  the  oppressed  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Let 
the  Church  of  England  and  the  Church  of  America  fight  in 
generous  rivalry  as  to  which  can  do  the  best,  and  I  say  from 
my  heart,  God-speed  to  your  work. 

In  the  afternoon  a  vast  multitude  of  perhaps  30,000 
assembled  for  the  Brotherhood  service  at  which  the 
Bishop  of  London,  Justice  Brewer  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  and  Fr.  Waggett,  S.  S.  J.  E.,  spoke 
on  "Man's  Responsibility  for  Man."  The  service  in- 
cluded the  presentation  and  dedication  of  the  Ambon 
made  of  stones  from  Canterbury  Cathedral.  The  Bishop 
of  London  had  been  commissioned  by  the  Archbishop  to 
adl  in  this  matter  for  him.  In  making  the  presentation 
he  said: 

Christian  Brethren:  I  must  first  complete  the  work  which, 
in  one  sense,  I  began  this  morning,  and  I  must  present  to  the 
Church  of  America,  as  represented  by  the  Bishop  of  Washing- 
ton, in  the  name  of  the  old  Church  of  England,  in  whose  name 
I  speak  this  afternoon,  the  gift  which  I  have  brought  here  with 
our  heart's  love.  I  described  at  the  great  service  this  morning, 
but  as  there  are  so  many  others  present  this  afternoon,  I  would 
like  shortly  to  describe  again,  why  the  present  which  I   bring 


THE  CITY  WHICH  HATH   FOUNDATIONS       401 

you  from  the  old  country  is  so  extraordinarily  appropriate  a 
present  from  one  branch  of  the  Anglican  Communion  to  another. 
The  ambon,  or  pulpit,  which  we  present,  represents  an  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  at  the  head  of  the  barons  of  England 
wringing  freedom  from  a  tyrannical  king,  and  therefore  it  sets 
before  us  the  first  thing  which  we  love  to  the  bottom  of  our 
hearts,   both  in   England  and  America  —  personal  freedom. 

Then  the  stones  of  it  are  made  from  the  stones  of  Canter- 
bury Cathedral,  and  that  typifies  the  second  thing  which  we 
value  so  deeply  in  our  Church,  and  that  is  the  historical  contin- 
uity of  it,  that,  without  any  break,  year  by  year,  step  by  step, 
you  and  we  go  back  to  the  days  of  the  Apostles  themselves, 
and  therefore,  when  we  bring  you  the  stone  from  the  Cathedral 
of  St.  Augustine,  we  ask  you  to  value,  as  we  do,  the  historical 
ministry  which  binds  us  all  together. 

Thirdly,  on  that  pulpit  you  will  see  figured  in  stone  the  glo- 
rious fight  for  the  open  Bible  that  we  had  in  England.  There 
is  Tyndale  portrayed  upon  the  stone,  and  that  typifies  the 
third  thing  that  we  love,  not  only  personal  freedom,  not  only 
the  historical  ministry,  but  also  an  open  Bible  —  "The  Church 
to  teach  and  the  Bible  to  prove"  is  the  motto  of  the  Anglican 
Communion.  There  is  no  saying  which  rings  in  my  ears  more 
constantly,  than  that  uttered  by  one  of  our  greatest  Bishops, 
"No  Church  will  hold  the  future  in  its  hand  that  has  not  the 
historical  traditions  in  the  one  hand  and  the  open  Bible  in  the 
other."  Therefore,  in  the  name  of  the  Church  of  England, 
dear  Bishop,  I  offer  you  the  pulpit  to-day. 

The  Bishop  of  Washington  accepted  the  gift  in  graceful 
terms: 

On  behalf  of  the  Chapter  of  Washington  Cathedral  I  receive 
and  accept  with  gratitude  at  your  hands  this  most  interesting 
and  historic  gift  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  At  your 
hands,  I  say,  for,  as  it  was  said  this  morning,  you  are  yourself 
brought  into  the  very  history  of  our  own  Diocese.  As  Bishop 
of  Washington  I  look  back  ten  years  and  remember,  and  the 
clergy  and  laity  remember  with  me,  that  we  belonged  to  the 
Diocese  of  Maryland,  and  we  go  back  one  hundred  \rars  more 
and  we  remember  that  the  then  District  of  Columbia,  as  far  as 
the  Episcopal  Church  was  concerned,  belonged  to  the  Diocese 
of  Virginia  and  of  Maryland.     When  we  go  back  to  the  history 


4o2  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

of  our  Church  in  colonial  days  we  find  that  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land were  under  the  Bishop  of  London.  Receiving  this  gift 
with  its  lessons  of  the  open  Bible,  I  know  that  I  speak  on  be- 
half of  all  who  are  present  here  to-day  when  I  say  that  the 
first  Gospel  sermon  preached  in  spirit  from  this  ambon,  has 
been  preached  by  the  Bishop  of  London  himself,  and  I  ask  if 
he  will  bless  the  ambon  with  his  prayers. 

The  Bishop  of  London  on  leaving  the  Cathedral  close 
said  to  the  Bishop  of  Washington  words  very  similar  to 
those  uttered  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  three 
years  before  at  the  Christian  Unity  Service:  "My  dear 
Bishop,  I  wish  to  thank  you  for  the  great  privilege  you 
have  given  me  to-day.  We  feel,  my  Chaplain  and  I, 
that  this  is  the  greatest  service  in  which  we  have  ever 
participated. "  Dr.  Thomas  Nelson  Page  writes  among 
impressions  and  appreciations  at  the  end  of  The  Founda- 
tion Stone  Book:  "The  chief  thought  which  has  always 
come  to  me,  last  as  first,  has  been  that  of  the  unity  and 
the  continuity  of  God's  Church  and  the  breadth  of  that 
Christianity  which  men  even  amid  their  best  designs,  so 
often  tend  to  narrow.  No  ceremony  connected  with  the 
life  of  our  Church  has  ever  seemed  to  me  more  impressive 
or  more  significant.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  founda- 
tion at  the  capital  of  the  nation  of  what  has  been  well 
called  'A  Spiritual  Home  for  all  People. '"  l 

The  business  of  General  Convention  was  not  less  taxing 
than  usual  and  Bishop  Satterlee  was  in  the  thick  of  it. 
He  was  one  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  represent  the 
House  of  Bishops  on  October  5,  on  the  occasion  of  the  pres- 
entation and  acceptance  of  a  Bible  presented  by  the  King 
of  England  (Edward  VII),  and  of  a  leclern  presented  by 
President  Roosevelt,  to  Bruton  Church,  Williamsburg,  Va. 
If  Bishop  Satterlee  could  have  ordered  the  circum- 
stances of  his  going  from  earth  he  could  have  desired  but 
little  different  from  that  which  happened.  His  closing 
activities  were  in  the  service  of  Missions  and  the  Cathe- 
dral.    Mr.    Bodley,    the    architect,    died   on   Odober   21. 

1  The  Foundation  Stone  Book,  p.  142. 


THE  CITY  WHICH  HATH  FOUNDATIONS       403 

Between  then  and  the  date  of  his  own  death  he  was  in 
constant  correspondence  with  Mr.  Vaughan  over  proposed 
changes,    and    details    of    architecture    and    construction. 
Some  of  his  letters  which  are  published  in  the  appendix 
show  with  what  minute  care  he  was  studying  the  plans. 
On  the  feast  of  the  Purification  (February  2,  1908)  he 
had   a  big  missionary  rally  for  the  Washington  Sunday 
Schools   at   which   he   and    a   visiting   Missionary    Bishop 
spoke.     He  was  full  of  brightness  in  his  address  which  he 
illustrated    by   pointing   to   a   bird   which    had   found   its 
way    into    the    building    and    was    flying    about.     That 
night  as  his  guest  was  leaving,  the  Bishop  took  him  into 
his  oratory  where  he  prayed  for  his  safe  journey  across 
the  seas  and,  if  God  willed,  that  they  might  soon  meet 
one  another  again  at  the  approaching  Lambeth  Conference. 
A  week  later   (February    10)    he  went  to  New  York  to 
attend  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Missions.     At  the  time 
he  was  suffering  from  a  cold.     From  New  York  he  went 
to   Providence,   R.I.,   to    meet    the   Diocesan    Committee 
on    the    National    Cathedral.     On    the    13th    he    left    for 
Washington    against    the    expostulations    of    his    friends. 
The  weather  was  bad  and  he  was  detained  without  food 
for  seven  hours,  in  the  bleak  discomfort  of  a  winter  fog 
on   the   North    River,  as   he  passed  through   New  York. 
Upon    reaching    home    he    took    up    the    duties    at    hand 
though    he   was    far   from   well.     On    Sunday    (the    16th) 
he   officiated   in   his   own   Chapel    and    administered   con- 
firmation at  St.  Philip's,  Anacostia,  later  in  the  morning. 
He    reluctantly    cancelled    an    evening    appointment    and 
the    next    day    he    recognized    that    he    was    gravely    ill. 
Pneumonia  had  set  in.     It  was  on  Monday  that  he  wrote 
his   last   letter  —  a   letter   to   one   of  his   clergy   who   had 
been   mistakenly  quoted   as  denying  the  Virgin   birth  of 
our  Lord: 

Feb.  17,  '08.  —  I  have  just  received  your  letter,  and  am  sorry 
to  see  from  the  black-edged  paper  that  you  have  had  a  recent 
affliction.  I  extend  to  you  my  heart-felt  sympathy.  It  is  a  relief 
to  my  mind  to  know  that  you  did  not  deny  the  Virgin  Birth  of 


4o4  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

Christ  in  your  Christmas  sermon,  and  also  that  you  do  not 
deny  it  in  your  thought.  My  informant  is  a  consecrated  person, 
who  is  very  quiet  and  reserved,  especially  in  talking  about  reli- 
gious matters,  and  I  am  sure,  never  intended  to  misrepresent  you. 
I  shall  be  very  glad  to  correct  the  false  impression  in  a  communi- 
cant of  my  own  pro-Cathedral. 

I  have  pointed  out  in  my  sermons  in  the  past  the  tendencies 
of  modern  religious  thought,  outside  of  our  own  Church,  to  con- 
fuse the  distinction  between  God  and  man,  to  regard  not  only 
Jesus,  but  all  men  as  divine  and  a  part  of  God,  and  that  this 
school  of  thought  therefore  treats  human  sin  as  merely  an  im- 
perfection, which  human  nature  is  casting  off  in  its  upward 
progress,  and  that  the  tendency  of  such  thinking  is  to  deny 
the  miraculous  Birth,  the  Resurrection,  and  in  fad  all  miracles. 
And  perhaps  it  is  because  I  have  habitually  impressed  this 
as  the  truth,  not  only  of  the  Catholic  creeds,  but  of  the  Scrip- 
tures themselves,  that  my  informant  was  led  into  the  mistake 
of  misinterpreting  your  sermon.  .  .  . 

The  Bishop  seemed  to  know  that  he  was  not  to  recover 
and  talked  about  matters  that  needed  consideration. 
The  night  before  his  death  he  was  in  distress,  finding 
difficulty  with  breathing;  his  daughter  proposed  sending 
for  the  doctor.  He  said  to  be  sure  to  see  that  he  had  a 
carnage.  He  also  noticed  that  his  nurse  was  tired  and 
told  her  she  must  take  some  rest.  In  the  early  hours 
of  February  22,  Washington's  Birthday,  there  was  a 
marked  change  for  the  worse.  The  Bishop  asked  for 
the  Holy  Communion.  The  Diocesan  Missioner,  the 
Rev.  W.  J.  D.  Thomas,  was  in  the  house  and  consecrated 
the  elements  in  the  Chapel.  Proceeding  to  the  sick 
room  he  administered  the  holy  Food  to  the  dying  servant 
of  Christ,  who  after  receiving  said:  "Thanks  be  to  God 
for  his  inestimable  gift."  He  blessed  those  who  were 
about  him,  saying  to  the  Celebrant:  "God  bless  thee, 
and  keep  thee,  and  protedl  thee,  my  son,  my  son;  and 
thank  you  for  bringing  me  God's  precious  gift.''  He 
fell  asleep  for  a  time.  Upon  waking  he  repeated  the  Ter 
Sandtus:  "Therefore  with  angels  and  archangels  and  all 
the  company  of  heaven  we  laud  and  magnify  thy  glorious 


THE  CITY  WHICH  HATH  FOUNDATIONS       405 


X 


name;  ever  more  praising  thee  and  saying:  Holy,  Holy, 
Holy,  Lord  God  of  hosts.  Heaven  and  earth  are  full  of 
thy  glory.  Glory  be  to  thee,  O  Lord  Most  High.  Amen." 
These  were  his  last  words  as  he  closed  his  career  on  earth, 
and  our  master  builder  passed  into  "the  city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God." 

His  body  was  carried  to  the  pro-Cathedral  on  the 
evening  of  the  twenty-fourth,  where  clergy  watched  by  it 
until  the  following  day,  when  the  Burial  Service  took 
place.  From  seven  o'clock  until  twelve  there  was  a  cele- 
bration of  the  Holy  Communion  every  hour.  At  two 
o'clock  the  pro-Cathedral  was  crowded,  among  those  pre- 
sent being  the  President  and  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
and  an  overflow  service  was  arranged  for,  in  a  neighboring 
Church  (the  Incarnation).  The  Bishop  of  New  York, 
the  Bishop  Coadjutor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Bishop  of 
Tennessee  took  the  service  at  the  church.  Those  who 
knew  Bishop  Satterlee  well  could  not  help  associating 
the  Te  Deum  with  him.  The  cablegram  just  received 
from  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  the  clergy  of  the 
Diocese  was:  "Deepest  sympathy.  Te  Deum."  So  this 
great  hymn,  which  his  lips  had  so  often  flung  Godward 
from  his  buoyant  soul,  was  now  sung  as  Mother  Church 
gave  his  quiet  body  her  last  benediction. 

At  the  grave  the  Bishop  of  Massachusetts  read  the 
committal  service.  The  body  reposes  in  the  Little 
Sanctuary,  where  it  will  rest  until  the  Cathedral  is  ready 
to  receive  it  beneath  the  Jerusalem  Altar,  which  will  be 
his  tomb. 

It  adds  nothing  to  the  glory  of  good  men  to  make  the 
hours  which  follow  their  withdrawal  echo  with  high- 
sounding  praise.  But  it  is  a  relief  to  the  ache  of  bereave- 
ment to  speak  words  of  respect,  affection  and  gratitude. 
Such  were  uttered  in  rich  profusion  throughout  the 
country,  by  men  of  every  kind  and  of  every  phase  of 
belief.  Commemorative  resolutions  were  passed  by 
churches,  universities,  and  societies  of  all  sorts.  Among 
the  many  were  two  passed  by  the  Knights  of  Columbus 


4o6  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

at  a  meeting  at  which  Cardinal  Gibbons  presided.     They 
were  as  follows: 

Resolved  That  in  the  death  of  Bishop  Henry  Yates  Satter- 
lee,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Washington,  this 
organisation  recognizes  that  our  national  capital  has  sustained 
an  irreparable  loss,  and  that  the  people  of  our  city  have  been 
bereft  of  a  great  and  good  man,  who  was  intensely  devoted  to 
all  that  makes  for  the  elevation  of  mankind. 

Resolved  That  we,  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  representing 
the  Catholic  manhood  of  the  national  capital,  in  mass  meeting 
assembled  February  23,  1908,  hereby  express  our  profound 
sorrow  on  his  death  and  extend  our  kindest  sympathy  to  the 
people  of  his  denomination. 

Thus  the  Roman  Catholics.  The  Protestant  churches 
were  not  silent.  Thus  the  Baptist  Ministers'  Conference 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  puts  itself  on  record: 

The  Baptist  Ministers'  Conference  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, having  learned  of  the  death  of  Right  Rev.  Henry  Yates 
Satterlee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  desires  to  record  its  sense  of  loss,  and 
to  pay  a  simple  tribute  to  his  memory. 

Bishop  Satterlee's  kindly  disposition,  his  Christian  manhood, 
his  catholicity  of  spirit,  his  consecration  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  National  Capital,  and  his  hearty  co-operation  with  all 
agencies  working  for  its  welfare,  makes  his  demise  a  public  sor- 
row, and  people  of  all  communions  have  reason  to  mourn  in 
this  sad  hour  that  a  truly  broad-minded  citizen  and  highly  es- 
teemed churchman  has  ceased  from  his  labors  of  love  in  this 
sphere  of  his  honored  activities. 

Believing  in  our  union  in  the  deeper  and  more  essential  things 
of  a  common  Christianity,  we  feel  we  share  with  the  ministry 
and  church  of  which  he  was  such  a  distinguished  representative 
in  this  present  grief.  We  extend  to  them  our  hearty  sympathy 
and  regard,  and  we  pray  that  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church 
universal  may  sanctify  to  their  entire  fellowship  this  providence. 

To  the  family  and  friends  more  immediately  bereaved  we 
offer  our  sincere  condolences,  and  the  earnest  assurances  of 
our  prayers  that  the  God  of  all  comfort  may  blessedly  sustain 
them,  ministering  to  them  the  riches  of  his  consolation  and 
grace  in  Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord. 


THE  CITY  WHICH  HATH  FOUNDATIONS      407 

The   aged   Bishop   of  Albany,   who  survived   him   five 
years,  paid  his  tribute  of  affedtion  in  verse: 

0  brave  and  patient  builder,  who  laid,  strong, 

The  deep  foundations  of  a  House  of  Prayer, 

Content  to  wait,  it  mattered  not  how  long, 

Till  corner  stone  to  capstone  should  arise; 

And  with  ingenious  pains  sought,  everywhere, 

Historic  links  with  many  an  age  and  clime; 

How  has  thy  purpose  been  wrought  out,  to  eyes 

That  look  beyond  the  horizon  line  of  time? 

First  in  the  temple  of  thyself,  upraised 

By  God  the  Holy  Ghost  to  Sainthood  high; 

Then  in  thy  sudden  passing,  unamazed, 

Up  to  the  City  with  foundations  sure, 

God  having  built  and  made  it:    and  thy  soul 

Winged  its  quick  way,  filled  with  God's  peace  and  pure, 

Catching  in  rapt  advance  the  "Holy"  song 

"Of  angels  and  archangels,"  and  the  throng 

Of  Saints  that  to  "Heaven's  Company"  belong. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

RESPICE,    ASPICE,    PROSPICE 

Others,  I  doubt  not,  if  not  we, 
The  issue  of  our  toils  shall  see; 
And  {they  forgotten  and  unknown) 
Young  children  gather  as  their  own 
The  harvest  that  the  dead  had  sown. 

Be  hut  faithful,  that  is  all; 
Go  right  on,  and  close  behind  thee, 
There  shall  follow  still  and  find  thee, 
Help,  sure  help. 

ARTHUR   HUGH   CLOUGH 

THE  greatest  responsibility  that  we  can  inherit  is 
the  achievements  and  memory  of  a  good  and 
great  man  like  Bishop  Satterlee.  They  can  be 
our  boast  and  joy,  only  so  far  as  we  use  them  as  an 
incentive  and  guide  to  character  and  action.  They  come 
to  us  as  part  of  a  whole.  They  are  a  beginning  which 
we  are  to  continue.  The  trust  is  a  solemn  one.  If  we 
admire  without  emulating,  accept  without  being  stung 
to  protect  and  promote  and  develop  what  we  have 
received,  we  thwart  the  man  whom  we  profess  to  rever- 
ence and  check  the  productivity  of  his  labors.  "Others 
have  labored,  and  ye  are  entered  into  their  labor/5  does 
not  mean  the  same  as,  "one  soweth  and  another  reapeth." 
Both  represent  a  heritage,  but  the  latter  is  a  heritage  of 
privilege,  the  former  one  of  responsibility;  the  one  is  a 
gift,  the  other  a  task;  we  can  retain  and  enjoy  the  gift 
only  so  far  as  we  execute  and  develop  the  task. 

The  Diocese  of  Washington  and  the  Church  at  large  in 
the  United  States  have  this  twofold  heritage  in  the  first 
Bishop  of  Washington.  He  has  set  a  high  standard  of 
life  and  work,  of  devotion  and  loyalty,  of  character  and 
citizenship,     which     cannot     be     lowered     without     loss, 


RESPICE,  ASPICE,   PROSPICE  409 

irreparable  loss.  The  value  of  a  saint  is  in  his  beckoning 
power  as  well  as  in  his  pressure  from  behind.  He  kindles 
a  beacon,  the  beacon  of  his  ideals,  which  shines  high  up 
on  the  hills  of  to-morrow  calling  to  our  laggard  feet  to 
climb,  climb,  climb.  Bishop  Satterlee  used  to  express 
fear  sometimes  lest  he  was  influencing  men  too  much 
through  the  driving  force  of  personality.  If  he  had  not 
had  this  fear  he  would  have  had  reason  to  fear.  He 
might  have  left  behind  only  a  memory.  As  it  is  he  has 
bequeathed  to  us  a  whole  life.  His  strength  was  tem- 
pered by  his  genuine  humility  and  his  child-like  simplicity. 
In  a  discussion  once  as  to  the  queen  of  virtues  he  awarded 
the  place  to  simplicity  as  including  all  the  rest.  He  was 
unspotted  by  the  world.  Moving  much  among  men  of 
wealth,  and  handling  wealth  as  a  trust,  he  never  bowed 
the  knee  to  mammon.  He  sought  to  bring  it  into  the 
service  of  God's  Kingdom.  For  himself  he  asked  nothing, 
though  he  knew  how  to  accept  with  unembarrassed  grace 
a  gift  that  would  tend  to  enlarge  his  power  of  service. 
Unsparingly  he  denounced  covetousness  and  scored,  as 
fearlessly  as  a  Jeremiah,  the  effete  society  of  his  own 
town.  He  was  never  a  temporizer  and  did  not  count 
the  cost  to  himself  of  a  rebuke  when  God  put  a  rebuke 
on  his  lips. 

The  proud  he  tam'd,  the  penitent  he  cheer'd, 
Nor  to  rebuke  the  rich  offender  fear'd. 

He  is  not  the  sort  of  man  to  need  or  desire  a  monu- 
ment. But  he  cannot  escape  having  one.  This  genera- 
tion will  hardly  pass  away  before  the  National  Cathedral, 
complete  in  the  chaste  Gothic  beauty,  which  his  piety 
and  ability  secured  for  it,  will  begin  its  century-long 
sentinelship  over  our  national  Capital.  This  is  not  a 
prophecy.  It  is  a  simple  statement.  The  memory  is  so 
pervasive,  the  beacon  is  so  brilliant,  that,  the  churchmen 
of  the  country  and  of  the  Diocese,  impatient  of  the  very 
thought  that  an  unfulfilled  trust  should  be  bequeathed 
to  the  men  of  to-morrow,  cannot  do  otherwise  than  enter 


4io  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

into  his  labor  and  complete  his  task.  His  own  eagerness 
to  add  more  to  much  has  been  transmitted  to  others,  and 
will  keep  them  restless  until  the  golden  nail  is  driven. 

Hardly  had  his  tired  body  settled  into  repose  before 
the  Bethlehem  Chapel  was  an  assured  fad*,  the  corner- 
stone of  the  Cathedral  being  laid  by  the  hand  of  his 
grandson  and  namesake  on  All  Saints'  Day,  1910.  The 
Chapel  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  the  most  holy 
God  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  James  (May  1) 
191 2.  And  now  while  these  words  are  being  written  the 
stately  walls  of  the  choir  rise  stone  upon  stone.  The 
gentle  compulsion  of  the  Master  Builder,  who  was  also 
the  founder,  will  not  fail  until  the  last  capital  has  been 
carved,  the  last  window  of  storied  glass  installed,  the 
highest  finial  set.  The  Master  Builder  has  seen  it  all  as 
God  showed  it  to  him.  By  anticipation  his  hand  of 
faith  has  shaped  and  placed  each  "clene  hewen'  ashlar. 
From  foundation  stone  to  capstone,  from  pavement  to 
lantern,  from  porch  to  altar,  he  has  mounted,  marking 
the  way  for  other  feet  to  follow.  "He  prepared  abun- 
dantly before  his  death."  The  names  he  strewed  along 
the  route  stamped  all  he  did  as  not  his  but  God's.  Yet 
each  name  was  his  own  caress  to  his  task  before  he 
placed  it  in  the  hands  of  his  Master  on  high.  What 
fragrance  there  is  in  the  "Little  Sandhiary,"  "All 
Hallows  Gate,"  the  "Jordan  Font,"  the  "Jerusalem 
Altar,"  the  "Benedidus  Gate,"  the  "Bethlehem  Chapel," 
the  "Nunc  Dimittis  Window"! 

It  would  be  a  sad  case,  indeed,  were  the  only,  or  the 
best,  words  written  concerning  Henry  Yates  Satterlee, 
Master  Builder,  those  of  a  friend  and  beneficiary  whose 
life  is  cast  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  But  it  is 
far  from  otherwise.  His  very  own,  those  who  walked 
with  him  shoulder  to  shoulder  and  who  daily  looked 
into  his  character  through  the  transparent  window  of  his 
soul,  those  who  were  his  spiritual  children,  are  the  ones 
who  most  eloquently  and  accurately  proclaim  their 
heritage  of  the  joy  and  the  task  which  he  has  bequeathed 


RESPICE,  ASPICE,   PROSPICE  411 

to   them.     Let   them    have   the   last   word    and   set   the 
capstone  to  this  volume. 

BY  THE    BISHOP    OF    WASHINGTON,    DR.    HARDING 

The  Bishop  was  deeply  interested  in  the  work  among  negroes 
and  felt  especially  the  responsibility  of  the  Diocese  of  Wash- 
ington for  their  spiritual  welfare,  in  view  of  the  facl:  that  in  the 
city  of  Washington  nearly  one-third  of  the  inhabitants  are  of 
this  race.  He  had  large  hopes  of  being  able  to  train  a  number 
of  efficient  colored  clergymen  in  King  Hall,  a  Theological  School, 
which  was  practically  established  by  him,  in  connection  with 
Howard  University.  He  gave  much  time  to  the  instruction  of 
the  students  there,  during  the  time  it  was  in  operation,  but 
lack  of  means  prevented  its  development,  as  he  had  intended, 
and  when  the  Church  Institute  for  Negroes  was  founded  and 
its  policy  defined,  namely,  to  give  their  full  support  and  the 
financial  aid  of  the  Board  of  Missions  to  one  or  two  selected 
Southern  institutions,  and  the  support,  that  had  been  given  to 
King  Hall  was  taken  away,  it  was  necessarily  closed. 

Not  long  before  his  death,  he  was  encouraged  to  hope  for 
large  financial  assistance  for  King  Hall  from  a  wealthy  man 
in  Philadelphia,  and  hoped  to  reopen  and  reorganize  King  Hall. 
This  financial  aid  did  not  materialize  afterwards. 

During  the  administration  of  President  McKinley,  a  reform 
was  instituted  in  the  method  of  appointing  Army  and  Navy 
Chaplains,  and  the  President  asked  Bishop  Satterlee  to  assume 
the  responsibility  of  inquiring  into  the  character  and  ability  of 
applicants  for  such  appointments  from  this  Church,  with  the 
understanding  that  he  would  not  make  any  such  appointments 
without  the  Bishop's  approval  and  recommendation.  This 
arrangement  had  the  tacit  approval  of  all  the  Bishops  and  has 
been  continued  by  all  the  Presidents  since  then.  This  involved 
much  correspondence  about  the  interviews  with  applicants  for 
appointments,  but  the  result  has  been  the  raising  of  the  stand- 
ard of  efficiency  among  the  Chaplains  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 

Bishop  Satterlee  did  not  conceive  that  his  full  duty  as  a 
Bishop  consisted  in  being  the  Executive  Head  and  administrator 
of  the  Diocese,  largely  as  these  functions  necessarily  absorbed 
his  time  and  energy,  but  that,  above  all  and   through  all,  he  was 


4i2  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

called  to  be  a  spiritual  leader  of  the  people.  It  was  his  constant 
aim  to  impress  upon  the  Clergy  that  they  too  should  be  spirit- 
ual leaders.  To  this  end,  he  loved  to  meet  them  in  quiet  hours 
and  to  hold  himself,  or  to  have  other  gifted  men  hold,  quiet 
days  and  spiritual  retreats.  These  efforts  were  not  confined 
to  the  Clergy,  but  extended  also  to  the  laymen  and  women 
of  the   Diocese. 

BY  THE   REV.    RANDOLPH   H.   MC  KIM,    D.D., 

Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany,  Washington 

As  the  first  Bishop  of  Washington  he  has  done  a  notable 
work  which  will  link  his  name  for  all  time  with  the  history  of 
this  Diocese,  as  an  inspiring  and  organizing  force  in  the  criti- 
cal years  of  its  early  life.  As  I  reflect  on  the  last  twelve  years 
of  Church  life  in  this  city,  it  seems  to  me  Bishop  Satterlee's 
personality  has  counted  for  much  in  giving  dignity  and  strength 
to  the  Church  —  in  impressing  upon  it  the  stamp  of  a  real 
relation  to  the  needs  of  the  community,  and  of  the  Nation. 
He  has  been  quick  to  hear  the  cry  of  the  prisoner  through  the 
Prisoners  Aid  Society.  His  heart  has  responded  to  the  spiritual 
needs  of  the  negro  race,  as  when,  to  mention  only  one  instance, 
he  gave  instruction  in  Christian  Ethics  to  the  students  of  King 
Hall,  once  a  week  during  its  entire  sessions.  He  has  felt  the 
mute  appeal  of  the  Army  and  Navy  for  more  efficient  religious 
ministrations,  and  has  given  active  personal  service  in  securing 
fit  chaplains  for  them  both.  Though  a  strong  Churchman, 
and  never  willing  to  compromise  his  Church  principles,  he  has 
maintained  most  friendly  relations  with  our  Christian  brethren 
of  other  communions,  and  has  reflected  the  spirit  of  the  Paul- 
ine aspiration,  "Grace  be  with  all  them  that  love  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity."  He  has  taken  wise  and  efficient 
measures  for  raising  the  standard  of  theological  education  in 
the  Diocese,  and  has  labored  lovingly,  and  indefatigably  for 
the  educational  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  National  Cathedral 

School. 

He  has  been  keenly  alive  to  the  need  of  a  higher  standard  of 
Christian  living  among  the  laity,  and  his  voice  has  again  and 
again  been  raised  (and  not  in  vain)  in  stern  rebuke  of  the  sins 
and  foibles  of  fashionable  society.  Yes,  he  has  often  spoken 
in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah  in  summoning  men  and  women 
of  this  city  to  repentance. 


RESPICE,  ASPICE,  PROSPICE  413 

To  all  this  must  be  added  his  contribution  to  the  cause  of 
Christian  unity,  and  to  that  unity  of  spirit  within  the  Church 
which  is  so  imperatively  demanded  in  the  conditions  that  con- 
front us  to-day. 

Personally,  I  did  not  always  agree  with  him  —  though  the 
occasions  were  rare  —  nor  could  I  always  approve  of  his  deci- 
sions in  Diocesan  matters.  But,  as  the  years  went  on,  I  found 
that  the  things  we  did  not  agree  on  were  the  secondary  things 
—  often  the  mere  mint,  anise  and  cummin  —  while  deep  down, 
in  the  great  things,  in  the  fundamental  matters  of  truth  and 
life  and  creed  and  work,  we  were  heartily  at  one.  And  so  we 
had  drawn  nearer  and  nearer  to  one  another  in  a  closer  and 
closer  bond  of  mutual  esteem  and  confidence  to  the  end. 

BY  THE    REV.   J.    HENNING   NELMS, 

Redor  of  the  pro-Cathedral 

When  Bishop  Satterlee  came  to  us  it  was  with  great  plans 
for  the  future  of  this  Church.  He  made  it  his  own  church  in 
a  very  true  sense.  Here  he  came  with  his  family  to  worship 
and  here  he  took  pleasure  in  appearing  at  the  services  when- 
ever his  many  duties  elsewhere  in  the  diocese  did  not  call  him 
away.  The  Church  of  the  Ascension  soon  became  the  centre 
for  diocesan  functions. 

It  was  not  the  prominence  given  to  the  church  by  its  being 
the  pro-Cathedral  that  was  the  greatest  blessing  that  came  to 
the  Ascension  parish  as  a  result  of  this  new  relation.  It  was  the 
earnest  personal  interest  which  Bishop  Satterlee  evinced  in  the 
church  and  the  people  of  the  parish.  Only  those  who  knew 
him  intimately  fully  appreciated  how  much  of  his  thoughts 
and  prayers  were  given  to  the  advancement  of  the  work  of  this 
parish.  Every  failure  of  our  people  to  fully  rise  to  their  respon- 
sibilities came  as  a  sorrow  to  him,  and  every  step  forward  on 
the  part  of  the  parish  brought  him  joy.  He  knew  us,  loved  us, 
prayed  and  hoped  for  us  more  than  we  ever  realized.  He  came 
among  us  as  a  great  chief-shepherd  of  his  flock,  joining  in  our 
festivals  and  deliberating  with  us  in  our  difficulties  and  our 
trials.  He  loved  our  children  and  even  spared  hours  from  a 
busy  life  to  come  among  them  and  join  in  their  festivals  of  joy 
at  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas.  One  of  the  dearest  recollections 
of  the  writer  is  the  memory  of  our  great  scholarly  bishop  stand- 


4i4  A  MASTER  BUILDER 

ing  in  the  midst  of  our  children,  explaining  with  all  the  fervor 
of  his  simple,  childish  heart  the  story  of  the  birth  and  child- 
hood of  Jesus. 

BY  THE   PRESIDING   BISHOP  OF  THE   CHURCH,   DR.   TUTTLE 

He  died  on  Washington's  birthday  a  little  more  than  four 
years  since.  It  was  a  fit  day  for  him  to  lay  down  his  work  to 
go  away  to  rest.  He  had  studied  the  nation's  life,  the  nation's 
hope,  the  nation's  needs.  The  nation,  that  Washington,  the 
Father  of  his  Country,  had  given  life  to,  and  had  nursed  and 
moulded  in  its  infant  years.  His  studies  were  on  the  spot, 
because  in  the  city  which  is  the  centre  of  the  nation's  govern- 
mental and  political  life.  His  studies  opened  before  him  many 
courses,  and  urged  upon  him  action  along  the  courses.  It  came 
to  his  thought  that  ours  is  a  national  Church;  that  there  is 
not  a  square  rod  of  land  nor  any  expanse  of  water,  over  which 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  float  in  sovereignty,  that  is  not  embraced 
definitely  in  the  jurisdiction  of  a  bishop  of  our  Prayer  Book 
Church.  And  that  in  the  history  of  antagonisms  before  the 
Civil  War,  and  of  sad  fracturings  in  the  Civil  War,  there  was 
never  any  real  break,  and  at  the  most  only  a  temporary  loosen- 
ing of  hand-grasps,  in  the  national  unity  of  our  Church.  Such 
inward  and  spiritual  harmony,  thought  he,  ought  to  have  an 
outward  and  visible  sign.  So  he  set  himself  to  think  and  plan 
and  work  for  a  National  Cathedral,  to  be  not  only  a  fabric  for 
our  own  Church,  but  also  a  symbol  of  harmony  and  an  instru- 
ment of  unity  and  a  thing  of  beauty  for  the  whole  nation. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  wise  and  well  to  count  the  value  of  this 
thought.  Is  there  another  Christian  communion  in  the  United 
States  that  can  advance  a  better  claim  than  ours  to  the  pro- 
fession of  National  Unity?  Some  are  divided  in  organisation 
between  North  and  South.  Others  are  segregated  into  inde- 
pendent congregations  and  would  disclaim  the  aiming  at  any 
such  thing  as  national  unity  or  union.  Others  exist  in  some 
States  of  the  Union,  but  have  no  existence  whatever  in  other 
States.  Others,  owe  fealty  to  the  sovereignty  of  a  foreign 
ecclesiastic,  and  this  must  quite  break  up  the  facft  and  force  of 
a  national  unity. 

In  the  light  of  reality,  then,  and  in  the  line  of  truthfulness 
have  we  not  an  honest,  and  perhaps  an  unshared,  claim  to  the 
profession  of  national  unity? 


RESPICE,  AS  PICE,   PROSPICE  415 

If  yes,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the  first  Bishop  of  Washington 
sat  himself  down  to  project  and  prepare  and  provide  for,  to 
found  and  to  start  into  life  a  National  Cathedral?  Or  that  the 
present  Bishop  of  Washington  and  his  advisers  and  helpers  are 
very  much  in  earnest  to  push  on  this  enterprise,  and  are  warmly 
alive  to  the  opportunities  and  responsibilities  and  burdens  en- 
tailed and  imposed  in  such   pushing? 

The  Nation  —  our  Country  —  here  in  this  city  is  her  seat. 
With  humility  —  not  in  pride  —  we  believe  God's  goodness 
gave  her  birth,  and  God's  goodness  is  giving  strength  and  maj- 
esty to  her  growth  and  life. 

BY  THE    LATE    BISHOP   OF    PENNSYLVANIA, 
DR.    MACKAY-SMITH 

No  one  ever  left  his  presence  without  feeling  that  he  had 
been  with  a  better  man  than  himself,  and  that  this  whirling, 
busy  life,  made  up  of  things  achieved,  or  to  be  presently  accom- 
plished, was  of  really  less  consequence  than  most  men  deemed 
it.  We  love  to  liken  our  dearest  friends,  in  this  or  that  char- 
acteristic, to  the  great  names  which  are  typical  in  history.  To 
me,  Satterlee  always  suggested  St.  John.  He  had  a  kind  of 
sweet,  loving  enthusiasm  which  was  like  that  of  the  apostle. 
And  while  there  was  a  merry  glint  of  humor  in  the  glance  of 
the  eye,  one  felt  that  it  was  the  merriment  of  which,  I  suppose, 
even  the  angels  are  full,  and  upon  which  every  large  and  com- 
prehensive character  is  based.  I  loved  Satterlee,  among  other 
reasons,  for  this  sweet  merriment  which  he  showed  from  time 
to  time.  Nothing  save  open  and  defiant  sin  seemed  to  provoke 
his  anger,  but  then  his  indignation  was  terrible,  and  I  saw  him 
once  in  such  a  case  when  I  pitied  the  poor  creature  who  wished, 
but  did  not  dare,  to  stand  up  and  defend  his  own  transgression. 
But  these  were  rare  cases.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  he 
took  life  with  a  smile,  and  believed  the  best  of  every  man. 

BY   THE    LATE    BISHOP    OF   ALBANY, 
DR.    DOANE 

No  man  ever  wanted  less,  and  certainly  no  man  ever  needed 
less,  a  memorial  or  a  remembrance  than  Henry  Yates  Satterlee, 
for  he  had  written  himself  deep  and  large  in  the  hearts  of  all 
who  knew  him  and  in  the  minds  of  the  American  Church,  fill- 
ing full  as  he  did  this  central  position  as  Bishop  of  the  Capital 
City  of  the   United   States.     "Integer  vitae  scelerisque  punts'*  is 


4i6  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

the  essential  fundamental  characteristic  description  of  his  life, 
except  that  underneath  the  foundation  was  his  devout  religious- 
ness. It  seems  to  me  I  never  knew,  I  doubt  if  there  ever  was, 
a  more  intensely  religious  man.  With  no  special  gifts  as  a 
preacher,  I  remember  years  ago  saying  to  someone  who  asked 
if  I  thought  it  was  a  good  sermon  that  he  preached,  "It  was 
better  than  that.  It  was  the  sermon  of  a  good  man,"  and  this 
sort  of  preaching  he  was  busy  with  all  the  years  of  his  mature 
life,  in  his  country  parish,  in  his  city  congregation  in  New 
York,  in  his  Episcopal  work  here. 

And  while  it  is  true  that  such  a  man  neither  wants  nor  needs 
a  memorial,  it  is  the  instinctive  tendency  of  our  human  nature 
to  make  memorials,  not  mere  gravestones  with  the  name  and 
the  date  on  them,  but  something  that  is  alive  with  love. 

You  have  most  fitly  and  wisely  chosen  here  the  form  that 
this  memorial  is  to  take,  the  Bethlehem  Chapel  with  its 
cradle  thought,  for  it  is  truly  the  cradle  for  the  great  Cathedral 
which  is  to  be  built  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  always  to  be 
associated  with  Satterlee's  name.  He  has  already  gathered  here 
memorials  of  many  places,  but  in  the  sacred  precin&s  of  this 
Santa  Croce  will  lie  ashes  that  make  it  holier. 

BY   THE    BISHOP    OF    PENNSYLVANIA, 
DR.   RHINELANDER 

He  was  extremely  sensitive,  open  to  influences,  impressions 
and  suggestion,  and  delicately  responsive  to  human  needs, 
whether  of  the  masses  or  of  the  individual.  I  might  perhaps 
illustrate  this  by  enumerating  the  different  works  he  set  him- 
self and  shared  with  us. 

i.  There  was  the  pro-Cathedral  by  which  he  hoped  to  set 
a  standard  of  parochial  life  and  to  have  an  outlet  for  his  per- 
sonal history.  What  he  most  prized  and  coveted  in  and  for 
each  Parish  was  what  he  used  to  describe  as  "The  Home  Feel- 
ing."  He  used  to  say  that  he  could  tell,  on  entering  an  empty 
church  for  the  first  time,  whether  or  not  it  was  "a  spiritual 
home.,,  Such  he  really  made  of  Calvary  in  New  York.  Such 
he  tried  to  make  of  St.  Mark's  pro-Cathedral  through  us.  He 
thought  and  planned  for  it  in  great  detail  and  with  much  care- 
fulness, and  freely  gave  himself  to  help. 

2.  There  was  his  plan  for  the  better  education  and  training 
of  his  candidates  for  Holy  Orders,  especially  during  their  diac- 
onate.     To  my   mind  this  was  one  of  the  greatest   and    most 


RESPICE,  ASPICE,   PROSPICE  417 

essential  of  his  visions.  I  think  also  he  held  it  very  dear.  We 
were  able  to  do  something,  but  a  series  of  circumstances,  which 
could  not  have  been  avoided,  brought  it  to  an  end,  after  two 
years,  and  it  was  not  renewed.  Briefly  his  thought  was  that  his 
deacons  should  be  first  of  all  students,  their  studies  being  directed 
with  reference  to  the  special  needs  of  each.  He  was  keenly  alive 
to  the  short-comings  of  the  different  seminaries,  from  which 
men  came,  and  we,  by  his  instruction,  tried  to  supplement  the 
thought  and  knowledge  of  the  men,  at  those  points  where  their 
respective  schools  had  left  them  weak.  The  deacons  lived  with 
us  in  our  clergy  house,  with  regular  hours  for  study  and  lectures 
and  with  carefully  defined  work  assigned  at  the  different  City 
Parishes  in  which  they  served.  We  were  to  stand  between 
them  and  any  too  great  demands  for  Parish  work,  which  would 
interfere  with  their  mental  and  spiritual  development.  At 
the  end  of  their  year  with  us  they  took  their  examinations  for 
the  priesthood.  Then  they  went  out  and  the  next  set  came  in. 
All  these  details  were  worked  out  by  him  and  I  mention  them 
because,  I  believe  that  in  every  essential  point  he  was  guided 
wisely.  Some  such  system  is  greatly  needed  in  the  Church, 
and  here,  as  in  many  things,  Bishop  Satterlee  was  in  lonely 
advance  of  other  men. 

3.  His  personal  shepherding  of  his  clergy.  This  never  was 
subordinate  in  his  thought,  though  later  pressure  made  it  less 
possible  for  him  to  do  it.  I  suppose  this  is  almost  the  univer- 
sal experience  of  Bishops.  At  the  first  devotional  meeting  which 
he  had  with  his  clergy,  he  spoke  to  us  on  Prayer  and  the  hollow- 
ness  of  Ministry  without  it.  I  think  none  of  us  will  forget 
that  impression.  One  felt  that  every  word  he  said  had  been 
verified  a  thousand  times  in  his  own  life.  My  chief  regret  in 
connection  with  the  inevitable  absorption  which  came  over 
him,  as  his  Cathedral  plans  developed,  was  that  this  peculiar 
ability  to  stimulate  spiritual  life  among  his  clergy  could  not  be 
more  largely  used.  The  simplicity  and  naturalness  with  which 
he  spoke  of  spiritual  things,  and  shared  his  spiritual  experience, 
was  sometimes  overwhelming.  I  think  I  have  never  known 
anything  just  like  it.  There  was  no  labor  of  thought,  little  of 
intellectual  finesse,  still  less  of  careful  style  or  balanced  periods. 
It  was  simply   an   unadorned,   unaffected  and   shining  witness. 

4.  His  effort  to  concentrate  and  inspire  Communicant  life. 
I  think  he  was  the  first  priest  in  New  York  who  established  and 


418  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

maintained  regular  meetings  for  communicants.  His  sense  of 
their  value  increased,  and  he  used  to  trace  most  of  the  activity 
and  loyalty  of  the  people  at  Calvary  to  these  meetings.  He 
carried  this  ideal  and  practice  straight  into  his  Diocese.  Here 
again  I  think  he  was  a  pioneer.  Washington  is  perhaps  the 
hardest  of  all  American  cities  in  which  to  make  an  effort  like 
this  successful.  Parochialism  was  rampant  when  he  went  there, 
and  is  so  still  in  spite  of  what  he  did.  But  he  did  much.  When 
he  held  these  meetings  the  church  was  nearly  always  full  and 
more  and  more  people  came.  His  main  aim  was  to  raise  the 
standard  of  Christian  living  by  binding  the  communicants  of 
the  Diocese  into  a  union,  which  would  create  a  special  atmos- 
phere and  lead  to  spiritual  cooperation.  Nothing  could  be 
finer  or  more  practical.  His  vision  led  him  unerringly  to  the 
heart  of  life  and  of  men's  needs. 

Of  his  Cathedral  undertaking  there  is  no  need  for  me  to  speak. 
Others  know  more  and  have  probably  told  it  all.  One  side  of 
it,  however,  brought  out  a  gift  which  might  otherwise  have 
been  obscured.  I  mean  his  singularly  rich  and  creative  imag- 
ination and  his  vital  and  vivid  artistic  sense.  Filled  with  the 
thought  of  what  the  Cathedral  could  do  and  be,  as  a  centre  of 
missionary  life  and  of  Christian  education,  still  it  was  (in  the 
deepest  sense)  the  artistic  side  of  it  which  filled  his  heart.  The 
" beauty  of  holiness''  led  him  on  in  great  things  and  in  small. 
His  imagination  was  quite  wonderful,  and  triumphed  over  all 
the  mass  of  mechanical  and  petty  details  which  burdened  him. 
As  I  look  back  over  those  days,  the  time  given  to,  and  the  in- 
tense satisfaction  taken  in,  planning  and  arranging  for  the  Jeru- 
salem Altar,  and  the  Glastonbury  Chair,  and  the  Jordan 
font,  and  all  the  other  symbols  and  embodiments  of  Church 
history  and  Christian  faith  which  he  set  in  the  prophetic  fore- 
ground of  the  great  Temple,  have  a  peculiar  sacredness  and 
meaning.  The  Cathedral  was  to  embody  the  richness  of  relig- 
ion. He  felt  as  only  artists  feel,  the  poetry  of  sacramental 
faith  and  the  spiritual  majesty  of  little  things. 

Most  of  what  I  have  written  is  meant  to  indicate  what  I 
have  called  his  spiritual  sensitiveness.  He  had  this  as  I  have 
said  in  a  quite  extraordinary  degree.  It  was  this  which  made 
his  growth  on  every  side  so  steady  and  so  marked.  No  life  was 
ever  lived  which  as  a  whole  and  in  all  its  parts  was  a  more  elo- 
quent and  compelling  argument  for  immortality. 


RESPICE,  ASPICE,   PROSPICE  4i9 

BY  THE    REV.   FLOYD   W.   TOMKINS,   D.D., 

Rector  of  Holy  Trinity,  Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Dr.  Satterlee  was  the  truest  man  I  ever  knew.  He  used 
laughingly  to  say  that  a  man  might  be  so  true  that  he  would 
bend  backward,  but  one  never  felt  the  danger  of  that  with  him. 
His  spirituality  made  him  full  of  God's  truth.  How  well  I  re- 
call intimate,  heart-to-heart  talks  with  him  on  faith,  and  love, 
and  all  the  parts  of  Christian  living!  He  was  open  as  a  child 
to  those  whom  he  trusted,  and  humble  too.  One  never  felt 
oppressed  by  his  superiority  in  things  spiritual,  though  one 
never  failed  to  be  conscious  of  it.  He  was  a  leader  by  his 
intrinsic  goodness. 

But  Dr.  Satterlee  had  strong  opinions,  and  we  did  not  always 
agree.  "Come  and  let  us  think  this  out,"  he  would  often  say, 
and  then  would  begin  a  delightful  and  spirited  hour  of  dis- 
cussion, in  which  we  were  both  fearlessly  frank  but  equally 
honest  to  find  the  right  way.  It  was  simply  glorious  to  argue 
with  such  a  man,  because  he  did  not  care  to  sustain  his  opin- 
ion as  a  matter  of  pride,  but  only  to  find  God's  will.  And  that 
divine  will  even  in  the  smallest  matters  he  felt  to  be  the  most 
important  thing.  How  often  we  knelt  in  prayer  with  open  minds 
and  asked  God  to  guide  us!  It  was  this  realness  of  his  Chris- 
tianity which  drew  men  to  Dr.  Satterlee,  if  they  were  honest. 

Perhaps  the  most  distinctive  feature  of  Dr.  Satterlee's  char- 
acter was  the  strength  of  his  ideals.  He  never  would  lower 
them;  he  never  would  accept  a  second-best;  he  looked  to  the 
hills  and  drew  his  aim  from  God's  revelation.  It  was  difficult 
at  times  to  go  with  him  in  this.  We  smaller  men  thought  that 
to  do  the  best  we  could  was  all  that  could  be  expected.  Not 
so  he,  "There  is  only  one  right  way  and  we  must  find  it"  — 
and  find  it  he  did  because  God  told  him.  His  pure-heartedness 
enabled  him  to  hear  and  see  God.  The  attainment  practically 
of  the  ideals  he  saw  was  not  immediate.  To  climb  the  moun- 
tain is  not  a  half  hour's  task.  But  he  set  the  direction  and  the 
pace.     The  results  are  following  even  now. 

BY  THE  REV.  GEORGE  R.  VAN  DE  WATER,  D.D., 

Reclor  of  St.  Andrew's,  New  York  City 

I  see  him  now  at  a  meeting  of  thirty  or  more  prominent 
clergymen,  silent  almost  to  the  point  of  dreaming  while  others 


42o  A  MASTER   BUILDER 

were  eager  to  speak,  and  finally  when  some  one  would  say  "What 
does  Satterlee  think?"  realizing  that  no  question  of  any  impor- 
tance was  really  discussed  until  he  had  spoken,  the  tall  figure  of 
the  seeming  dreamer  would  rise,  and  what  he  then  slowly  said 
would  become  the  unanimous  voice,  expression  and  vote  of  the 
assembly. 

There  were  many  better  speakers  than  he,  but  few  better 
thinkers,  and  none  thought  so  well  before  he  spoke  as  did  this 
saintly,  manly,  devoted  son  of  the  Church,  Bishop  Satterlee. 

BY  THE    REV.    GEORGE    F.    NELSON,   D.D., 

Canon  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Divine,  New  York 
I  remember  the  big  library  in  which  I  sometimes  met  Bishop 
Satterlee  when  he  was  Rector  of  this  [Calvary]  Church.     I  used 
to  wonder  how  he  ever  found  time  to  read  his  books.     He  was 
preeminently   a   man   of  action   as  well   as   a   man   of  thought. 
Doubtless  he  was  a  book-lover,  but  he  especially  illustrated  the 
meaning  of  Pope's  line,  "the  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man." 
His  seemed  to  be  a  temperament  that  found  an  unfailing  charm 
in  the  strenuous  life.     A  few  years  ago,  just  after  his  recovery 
from  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  I  called  on  him  one  day 
at   Bar   Harbor,  and   expressed   to  him   the  wish   of  one  of  his 
brother  Bishops,  that  he  would  take  a  long  rest  before  returning 
to  his  tasks  in  Washington.     With  a   smile   he   replied:    "That 
is  a  kind  wish,  but  I  must  go  back  and  keep  my  appointments." 
His  meat  and  drink  was  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to  min- 
ister.    To  spend  and  to  be  spent  in  the  service  of  the  Master 
was  his  ideal  life.     It  hardly  seems  too  much  to  say  that  his 
repose,  if  he  had  any  when  he  was  not  asleep,  was  like  that  of 
the  whirling  wheel,  which  turns  so  fast  that  it  looks  as  if  it  were 
standing  still.     He  gave  himself  to  his  most  arduous  activities 
with  the  zest  of  a  healthy    boy  at  play.     He   found  joy  in   his 
work  because  it  was  done  for  Christ  and  in  the  spirit  of  Christ. 
He  found,  as  others  have  found,  that  the  sweetest  consciousness 
which  can  stir  in  any  human   heart  is  to  be  a  co-worker  with 
God. 

BY  MR.    GERARD    BEEKMAN 

When  I  first  met  Henry  Y.  Satterlee,  it  was  to  be  strongly 
drawn  to  him,  and  this  friendship  although  interrupted  by  later 
separations  grew  with  the  years,  for  to  this  affection  of  youth 
was  added  a  constantly  increasing  repecT:.     In  those  early  days 


RESPICE,  ASPICE,   PROSPICE  421 

his  chara&er  was  an  ideal  of  young  manhood.  His  tall  and  erect 
figure,  his  earnest  searching  eyes,  his  unselfish  devotion  to  duty, 
the  kindliness  and  purity  of  his  amusements,  the  high  standard 
in  all  he  did,  shewed  him  even  in  those  days  to  be  one  walking 
with  God;  full  of  joyous  happiness,  ready  to  take  part  in  any 
innocent  pleasure,  untouched  by  asceticism,  unimpaired  by 
foibles,  his  mind  always  took  a  comprehensive,  practical  and 
thoroughly  common-sense  view  of  whatever  was  presented  to 
him,  and  yet,  behind  it  all  was  a  touch  of  chivalry  and  high- 
mindedness  which  went  to  the  heart  of  his  friends. 

BY  THE    LATE    REV.    CORNELIUS    B.    SMITH,   D.D. 

It  was  in  the  very  midst  of  all  this  usefulness,  twelve  years 
after  consecration  as  Bishop,  that  the  death  angel  came  and 
promoted  him.  There  was  no  tragedy  in  that  sudden  change  of 
worlds;  but  only  the  opening  of  a  larger  opportunity.  And 
what  a  retrospect  there  was  for  his  departing  soul!  His  years 
had  been  full  of  service  and  joy.  And  love  without  stint 
had  come  to  him  in  return  for  his  love. 

And  better  still,  in  his  own  household,  there  was  the  perfect 
communion,  unchanged  by  his  passing  away.  Husband,  wife 
and  children  had  always  been  one  in  faith,  in  work,  and  in  the 
Divine  vision  and  so  they  are  to-day. 

It  is  all  triumph. 

Thus  the  souls  of  the  faithful  are  continually  passing  into 
the  Fatherland  where  larger  work  and  increasing  usefulness 
await  them. 

So  the  beginnings  of  Time  pass  into  the  completions  of 
Eternity. 

TE    DEUM 


APPENDIX    I 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  CORRESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  THE 
BISHOP  OF  WASHINGTON  (h.  Y.  S.)  AND  THE  ARCHITECTS 
OF  THE  CATHEDRAL,  MR.  GEORGE  F.  BODLEY,  R.A.  (g.  F.  B.), 
AND    MR.    HENRY   VAUGHAN    (H.  V.) 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

July  6,  igo6.  The  opportunity  that  your  coming  Cathedral 
will  afford  is  vast,  for  good.  It  would  be  grand  if  your  newer  world 
in  America  should  show  the  world  that  the  ancient  dignity  and 
beauty  of  religious  architecture  can  be  achieved  in  these  days.  It 
could  be  so.  Gothic  art  with  all  its  acceptance  of  the  beauty  of 
nature,  as  its  basis,  and  its  added  spiritual,  aspiring,  fervour  could 
do  all  this.  I  know  that  the  limitations  of  possibilities  must  be 
fully  taken  into  account  and  that  a  certain  amount  of  modern 
character  must  be  made  to  play  its  part.  But  that  need  not  be 
to  the  detriment  of  real  grandeur  and  beauty  and  religious  feeling. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Sept.  15, 1906.  I  would  come  out  to  America  when  it  is  thought 
desirable. 

Cable  from  H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

Ocl.  8.  Chapter  decided  today  to  ask  Vaughan  and  yourself 
associate  architects  for  preliminary  plans.  Your  immediate  pres- 
ence here  desired  for  consultation  with  Chapter  as  to  terms  of  con- 
tract including  liberal  compensation  for  services.  All  travelling 
expenses  paid.    Cable  reply.    Have  written. 

Cable  from  G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Oclobcr  o,  1906.  Very  gratified.  Will  come  in  November. 
Cannot  earlier.    Writing. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

Oclober  8>  1906.  In  explanation  of  this  cable  message  I  would 
say  that  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Mr.  Vaughan  was  a  pupil 
in  your  office,  his  name  was  put  before  your  own,  because  he  is 


424  APPENDIX  I 

an  American  architect  and  we  feel  that  it  was  the  wiser  course  to 
name  him  first  for  reasons  that  you  can  appreciate,  but  the  Chap- 
ter chose  you  as  associates,  with  the  distinct  understanding  that 
you  would  work  together,  harmoniously,  with  all  your  powers, 
for  the  best  plans  that  can  be  made,  as  expressed  by  you  in  your 
letter  of  September  fifteenth. 

•    •••••••••• 

Of  course,  my  dear  Mr.  Bodley  the  choice  of  an  architect  has 
been  a  matter  of  earnest  intercession  with  us,  and  we  shall  con- 
tinue to  pray  that  a  right  judgment  and  wisdom  may  be  given 
the  architects  who  have  been  chosen  for  the  preliminary  work, 
and  it  may  be  their  privilege  to  erect  in  this  Western  hemisphere 
a  true  Cathedral  in  the  religious  spirit  of  the  old  Gothic  builders. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Od.  16,  igo6.  I  will  not  object  to  Mr.  Vaughan's  name  stand- 
ing first  and  quite  see  the  reasons  for  it  —  though  in  England  an 
R.A.  has  precedence.  I  feel  sure  we  shall  work  together  and  each 
fall  into  our  especial  departments.  The  great  interest  of  the  work 
grows  on  one.  It  would  seem  that  the  love  of  the  beautiful  Gothic 
style  is  somewhat  dying  out  in  the  old  world,  religious  and  beauti- 
ful as  it  is.  This  Cathedral  may,  in  the  legislative  seat  of  the 
new  world,  hold  up  a  light  that  shall  be  reflected  for  us  in  old 
England. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Nov.  13,  iqo6.  I  must  thank  you  very  much  for  your  sending 
me  the  books  about  the  Cathedral.  The  Building  of  a  Cathedral 
is  most  interesting  and  inspiriting  and  ought  to  raise  enthusiasm 
on  the  part  of  all  concerned  in  the  great  and  good  cause. 

We  leave  by  the  "Oceanic"  the  21st  instant,  all  being  well. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  29,  1906.  Mr.  Vaughan  and  I  are  here 
and  are  at  your  commands. 

I  am  anxious  to  leave  by  the  boat  that  leaves  on  the  5th  of 
December.  Mr.  Vaughan  and  I  think  that  we  can  do  all  that  is 
necessary  or  possible  to  do  at  the  present  time. 


■I 


From  the  Architect's  Drawing 

THE     NATIONAL     CATHEDRAL 

If  est  Front 


APPENDIX  I  425 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Dec,  13,  1906.  I  must  send  a  line  of  thanks  for  your  kindness 
when  Mr.  Hare  and  I  were  at  Washington.  It  was  indeed  a 
pleasure  to  be  with  you.  And  please  convey  my  thanks  to  Mrs. 
Satterlee.  We  had  a  prosperous  voyage  —  so  much  better  than 
the  journey  out. 

The  visit  to  Washington  will  always  be  a  pleasant  memory 
and  I  hope  only  the  inauguration  of  much  delightful  work  for  the 
Cathedral.    We  shall  set  to  work  as  soon  as  possible. 

Lord  Curzon,  for  whom  I  am  to  build  a  memorial  chapel  to 
his  late  wife,  crossed  the  Atlantic  with  us  and  we  are  staying  here 
a  night  before  reaching  home.  I  lent  him  your  very  interesting 
book  about  the  Cathedral  of  the  future  —  not  a  very  far  future 
I  hope.  I  do  hope,  with  all  my  heart,  that  all  will  go  well  with 
the  beneficent  scheme  and  that  the  plans  may  not  be  all  unworthy 
of  so  great  an  opportunity. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

Jan.  11,  1907.  You  very  kindly  said  that  you  would  be  glad  to 
have  any  suggestions  from  me  regarding  the  Cathedral.  It  will 
be  the  greatest  pleasure  to  me  to  send  them  to  you,  for  I  feel 
that  we  are  in  such  sympathy  and  accord  that  I  can  open  my 
heart  to  you  regarding  my  ideal  of  the  Cathedral. 

At  present  I  have  only  one  or  two  suggestions  to  offer.  You 
know  that  our  Washington  Cathedral  will  have  many,  many 
lines  of  interest  and  association.  First,  last  and  always  it  is  to 
be  that  which  we  have  described  in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, Christ's  House  of  Prayer  and  witness  for  Christ  in  the  Capital 
of  the  United  States,  where  it  will  be  the  only  great  religious  build- 
ing amid  the  magnificent  civic  structures  of  the  classic  renais- 
sance style  that  will  rise  on  every  side. 

Then  it  will  be  the  representative  Cathedral  of  our  own  Church 
at  the  Capital  of  the  country.  The  time  is  not  yet,  but  it  is  bound 
to  come  at  some  future  day,  when  we  must  have  archbishops  in 
America.  All  past  Church  history  indicates  this,  and  the  ex- 
igencies of  the  work  will  force  the  issue  as  the  Church  develops. 

Of  course  we  cannot  tell  where  the  metropolitan  will  be,  but 
little  jealousies  of  North,  South,  East  and  West,  would  probably 
prevent  it  being  anywhere  else  than  at  the  Capital  of  the  whole 
country,  and  therefore  the  Cathedral  of  Washington  will  be 
something  more  than  diocesan. 


426  APPENDIX   I 

It  will  be  the  representative  Cathedral  of  the  Anglican  Com- 
munion in  America.  If  you  will  read  our  Constitution  over,  you 
will  find  that  it  has  been  framed  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  this 
object,  should  the  tendency  arise. 

Once  more,  although  there  are  a  few  Protestant  bodies  in 
America,  like  Lutherans,  Moravians  and  Swedes,  that  trace  their 
lineage  to  continental  Europe,  most  of  them  are  of  English  descent, 
like  the  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  Methodists,  Baptists, 
Quakers,  etc.  With  scarcely  one  exception  these  in  by-gone  cen- 
turies separated  from  the  Church  of  England,  because  in  those 
days  the  Church  of  England  was  not  wise  enough  to  recognize  their 
deeply  religious  character,  and  treated  them  as  it  treated  John 
Bunyan,  George  Fox,  Thos.  Brown,  Robert  Cartwright,  John 
Wesley  and  others,  from  whom  these  religious  bodies  have 
descended. 

Every  now  and  then  when  I  meet  these  Presbyterians  and 
others,  I  say  to  them,  "If  you  go  back  six  or  eight  generations  you 
will  see  that  your  ancestors  for  a  thousand  years  before  their 
descendants  came  to  America,  were  members  of  the  Church  of 
England,"  and  I  always  find  that  I  touch  a  responsive  chord.  Then 
they  answer  and  say,  "Yes,  but  we  were  driven  out  of  the  Church 
of  England  on  account  of  our  religious  principles,  and  we  came 
here  to  America  for  religious  liberty."  Then  I  answer,  "Yes,  there 
is  a  great  blessing  that  God  sent  you  here.  The  British  Colonies 
were  founded  by  deeply  religious  men.  This  country  was  born  of 
God." 

And  this  my  dear  Mr.  Bodley  is  a  remarkable  fact.  No  country 
in  its  beginnings  has  richer  or  more  splendid  instances  of  deep 
religious  convictions  and  historic  religious  incidents  than  America. 

In  the  Colonial  days,  there  were  men  who  if  they  had  been 
Roman  Catholics  would  have  been  canonized.  When  I  touch 
these  facts  there  is  another  point  of  union.  At  the  present  time 
these  Colonial  days  have  a  halo  about  them,  in  the  eyes  of  genuine 
Americans.  We  have  all  kinds  of  organizations  of  those  who  are 
descendants  of  the  Port  Colonists.  We  have  the  Society  of  the 
Colonial  Wars,  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  the  Revolution, 
Society  of  Colonial  Dames,  etc. 

The  more  we  recognize  the  power  of  the  splendid  religious 
examples  of  these  British  settlers  who  came  to  America  for  re- 
ligious   freedom,    the    more    Presbyterians,    Congregationalists, 


APPENDIX  I  427 

Methodists,  Baptists,  etc.,  feel  a  sympathy  with  the  Anglican 
Communion. 

Now  I  have  felt  that  if  the  Cathedral  of  Washington  touches 
this  chord  of  association,  it  will  greatly  help  the  cause  of  Church 
Unity,  and  I  have  thought  that  by  and  by  when  the  stained  glass 
windows  of  the  aisles  are  put  in,  they  might  represent  some  in- 
tensely interesting  and  religious  scenes  of  American  history. 

Many  of  them  would  be  scenes  connected  with  our  own  Church, 
for  example,  "Washington  reading  the  Burial  Service  over  Gen. 
Braddock's  remains,"  "The  Baptism  of  Pocahontas,"  etc.,  and 
other  scenes  dear  to  the  hearts  of  Puritans,  Presbyterians  and 
Methodists. 

In  this  way  Washington  Cathedral  would  not  only  be  religious, 
but  also  National. 

Of  course  the  windows  in  every  other  part  of  the  choir  would  be 
devotional  and  devoted  to  Scripture  scenes,  just  as  following  your 
own  interesting  suggestion,  the  portico  would  represent  the  Bible, 
and  we  might  well  leave  the  nave  and  aisles  for  national  subjects. 
This  in  itself  would  draw  thousands  of  visitors  from  every  part 
of  the  country  to  see  the  Cathedral,  because  a  religious  as  well 
as  patriotic  chord  would  be  touched,  and  I  find  that  the  combina- 
tion of  these  two  aspirations,  God  and  country,  have  been  the 
most  aspiring  ideal  before  Anglo-Saxons,  and  I  hope  our  Cathe- 
dral will  have  this  combined  influence. 

I  have  only  one  more  suggestion  to  make  at  the  present  and 
that  is  on  a  distinctly  religious  line.  The  first  carol  ever  sung 
was  sung  by  herald  angels  from  Heaven,  and  it  was  they  who 
first  used  the  word  "Gospel"  (glad  tidings),  and  I  have  thought 
that  the  central  tower  of  the  Cathedral,  in  which  the  Cathedral 
bells  will  chime  out  the  glad  tidings,  might  well  be  named  the 
Gloria  in  Excelsis  Tower.  And  that  thus  while  the  chancel  stands 
for  the  Ascension  of  Christ,  and  the  triumph  of  the  Christian 
Faith,  when  the  carpenter's  Son  became  the  King  of  Heaven,  sit- 
ting at  the  right  hand  of  God,  this  soaring  central  tower  might 
stand  for  the  Incarnation. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Jan.  31,  1907.  My  chief  object  in  writing  now  is  to  say  please 
send  us  the  further  suggestions  you  speak  of  as  having  occurred 
to  you. 


428  APPENDIX  I 

I  do  not  think  that  excess  of  richness  is  desirable,  but  rather 
much  dignity  and  even  solemn  grandeur.  They  were  more  joyous 
in  the  middle  age  than  we  are  now.  There  must  be  beauty  as  well 
as  dignity  —  but  it  may  be  chastened  beauty.  I  do  not  think  too 
ornate  a  character  is  desirable.  To  give  a  religious,  solemn  aspect 
may  be  more  teaching,  may  it  not,  in  these  days?  So  please  do 
not  expecl:  too  ornate  a  building.  But  it  shall  be  one  as  dignified 
and  religious  looking  as  one  can  make  it. 

We  were  much  obliged  for  the  little  "office "  you  gave  us  in 
that  "upper  chamber"  as  we  left.  I  wanted  to  ask  your  blessing 
on  us  but  could  not  command  my  voice.  But  I  am  sure  we  had 
it  and  have  it  on  our  work. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

Feb.  12,  iQoy.  You  kindly  asked  me  to  send  you  some  sugges- 
tions, and  I  am  venturing  to  send  a  few  as  they  occur  to  me. 

First.  —  In  your  letter  you  said  that  you  did  not  think  "exces- 
sive richness  is  desirable,  but  much  dignity  and  even  solemn 
grandeur."  With  you  I  do  not  like  too  ornate  a  character,  and 
yet  we  must  remember  on  the  other  hand  that  in  raising  funds  for 
the  Cathedral  everything  will  depend  upon  the  way  in  which  the 
designs  meet  with  general  approval  and  inspire  enthusiasm.  First 
of  all  comes  the  proportion  of  the  different  parts  to  one  another. 
If  these  are  correcl:,  they  will  appeal  to  that  sense  of  proportion 
which  is  widely  felt,  and  yet  so  difficult  to  explain  or  describe. 

Second.  —  While  I  do  hope  that  the  ornamentation  of  the 
Cathedral  will  be  as  chaste  as  you  desire,  and  subordinate  to  the 
grandeur  of  the  general  effecT:,  nevertheless  I  think  we  must  avoid 
the  temptation  to  be  purist.  It  is  my  hope  that  the  Cathedral 
will  inspire  a  feeling  of  joyousness  and  triumph,  a  triumph  of  the 
Christian  Faith  which  leads  from  the  Crucifixion  to  the  Ascension 
of  Christ  in  glory. 

I  earnestly  trust  that  in  the  effort  for  solemnity  and  grandeur, 
there  will  not  be  the  appearance  of  austerity  or  heaviness. 

If  in  some  way  the  majestic  outer  porch  could  represent  the 
Old  Testament,  the  choir  about  the  rood  screen  the  Crucifixion, 
and  the  chancel  could  breathe  the  glory  of  the  Ascension,  this 
would  be  my  ideal. 


APPENDIX  I  429 

Six.  —  There  are  occasions  when  great  gatherings  will  take 
place  in  the  Washington  Cathedral,  and  I  would  suggest  that  we 
have  this  thought  in  mind  in  building  the  triforium  gallery,  and 
that,  if  possible,  seating  room  should  be  found  here  for  as  many- 
hundreds  as  possible,  when  occasion  requires. 

Seven.  —  I  have  been  for  some  years  the  Provisional  Bishop 
of  the  Mexican  Episcopal  Church.  That  was  a  very  small  body 
of  native  Mexicans,  and  through  my  influence  they  have  recently 
united  with  our  Church.  As  a  testimonial  to  the  first  Bishop  of 
Washington  they  have  sent  me  a  block  of  Mexican  onyx,  as  a 
memorial  of  their  former  existence,  and  they  wish  that  this  stone 
may  be  used  in  some  part  of  the  Washington  Cathedral,  with  an 
appropriate  inscription.  The  only  objecl:  that  I  have  thought  of 
is  the  credence  table  in  the  wall.  Perhaps  you  can  suggest  a 
more  appropriate  one.  The  block  could  be  sawed  into  slabs,  if 
necessary. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

March  5,  igoy.  The  plans  are  being  worked  out.  I  do  not  think 
that  you  need  have  any  fears  as  to  their  being  rich  enough.  I 
fully  appreciate  your  feeling  for  a  fabric  that  will  be  uplifting  to 
hearts  and,  I  hope,  send  men  on  their  knees.  It  will  be  our  fault 
if  that  is  not  achieved.    I  think  it  will  be. 

.....         ....... 

It  is  a  little  remarkable  that  when  at  sea,  going  out,  a  design 
came  into  my  head  of  the  central  tower  having  large  figures  of 
angels  below  the  belfry  stage  each  holding  a  scroll  with  the  "Gloria 
in  excelsis  Deo,"  one  word  on  each  scroll.  I  say  rather  remarkable 
for  the  same  idea  struck  you,  too.  It  will  be  as  it  were  a  band  of 
angels  round  the  Tower,  which  may  well  be  called  "The  Angel 
Tower/'  (It  is  the  choir  at  Lincoln  that  is  called  the  Angel  Choir.) 
We  rather  want  to  know  if  we  may  have  a  chapel  at  each  end  of 
the  choir  aisles.  One  could  be  the  Lady  Chapel  and  the  other  the 
Chapel  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul. 

I  cannot  help  sending  you  what  we  are  thinking  of  and  to  tell 
you  that  we  have  the  same  feeling  about  the  work  being  eucharis- 
tic  as  you  have. 

P.  S.  —  I  think  there  could  be  statues  or  carved  panels  of  his- 
toric subjects  commemorating  great  Americans.     They  would  be 


43o  APPENDIX  I 

better  than  glass,  for  modern  costumes  look  so  bad  in  stained 
glass  and  the  modern  character  would  not  assimilate  with  the 
others  we  should  want.  So  please  not  in  glass  —  but  Washington 
and  others  could  well  be  commemorated  otherwise.  Incongruous 
figures  would  be  most  unfortunate. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

March  12, 1907.  I  hope  you  will  pardon  me  for  expressing  my 
desire  almost  importunately  that  the  Cathedral  should  inspire 
all  with  the  idea  of  a  joyous  triumph  of  the  Christian  Faith. 

It  will  be  indeed  like  a  city  set  on  a  hill. 

Mr.  Chas.  McKim,  who  was  one  of  the  two  archite&s  appointed 
by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  on  the  Park  System  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  which  made  the  celebrated  report  that  will 
determine  the  future  of  Washington,  told  me  that  the  United 
States  Government  did  not  own  as  fine  a  piece  of  land  in  the  City 
of  Washington  as  the  Cathedral  site. 

It  stands  on  Mt.  St.  Alban,  400  feet  above  the  Potomac,  a  hill 
that  is  seen  from  all  parts  of  Washington. 

In  some  respects  therefore  the  Cathedral  with  its  central  tower 
will  be  the  most  conspicuous  building  which  cuts  against  the 
Western  sky,  and  will  stand  as  a  witness  for  Christ  above  every 
other  building  in  the  City,  and  I  earnestly  hope  that,  its  propor- 
tions will  be  such,  as  to  kindle  a  devotional  feeling  in  the  breast 
of  every  beholder. 

Another  thought  has  occurred  to  me.  If  we  should  call  the 
central  tower  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis  Tower,  why  should  we  not 
call  the  others,  the  Nunc  Dimittis  and  the  Magnificat  Towers, 
and  here  would  be  the  three  psalms  of  praise,  which  have  their 
origin  in  the  New  Testament  itself. 

We  have  already  on  the  Cathedral  grounds  the  Little  Sanctuary, 
with  the  temporary  tower  called  All  Hallows  Gate.  It  was  so 
named  in  the  hope  that  ultimately  the  South  door  of  the  Cathe- 
dral may  be  called  All  Hallows  Gate. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

March  26,  1907.  I  fully  agree  with  all  you  say  about  the  great 
importance  of  the  work  and  the  remarkable  character  of  the  site 
and  the  triumphant  character  desirable  for  the  great  Cathedral. 
Mr.  Vaughan  came.    He  left  the  end  of  last  week.    We  went  into 


APPENDIX  I  431 

the  whole  matter.  He  was  most  amiable,  and  good  enough  to 
accept  what  I  had  designed  before  he  came.  He  came  later  than 
I  had  anticipated  and  I  fear  I  had  done  rather  much  at  the  design. 
It  was  too  interesting  to  leave  off  when  once  one  had  begun!  I 
do  hope  that  you  will  be  pleased  with  the  design.  You  gave,  or 
transmitted,  the  inspiration.  Of  course  it  is  difficult  for  any  except 
those  making  the  design  to  realize  what  the  effect  of  the  building 
will  be.  I  venture  to  think  and  certainly  hope,  that  it  will  be  good 
as  a  design  and  to  your  mind.  Again,  curiously,  I  have  shown 
lettering  running  round  the  building  externally  and  I  meant  them 
for  the  canticles  which,  as  you  say,  all  bring  out  the  expression  of 
joyous  praise.  Certainly  the  towers  could  be  named  as  you  say. 
It  is  a  good  idea  and  a  happy  thought. 

A  leading  feature  of  the  design  is  a  bright  sanctuary.  A  rather 
original  design  brings  out  that  feature.  We  think  it  will  be  a  good 
treatment.  I  could  very  much  wish  you  could  be  here  when  the 
drawings  were  finished.  But  we  hope  they  will  explain  them- 
selves and  that  a  little  faith  in  the  result  of  the  reality  may  warrant 
acceptance  and  approval.  The  work  is  very  much  in  one's  heart. 
May  it  prosper!    "Prosper  thou  the  work  of  our  hands." 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

April  8>  1907.  We  hope  it  may  be  possible  to  lay  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Cathedral  on  the  last  Sunday  in  September,  which 
is  St.  Michael's  Day.  This  is  the  Sunday  before  the  meeting  of 
the  General  Convention,  when  the  Bishop  of  London  and  most  of 
the  Bishops  of  the  American  Church  will  be  present. 

There  is  no  other  Christian  body  in  the  United  States  which 
can  trace  its  beginnings  back  to  a.d.  1607,  and  we  want  to  take 
advantage  of  this  anniversary  for  increasing  interest  in  Washing- 
ton Cathedral.  Nothing  could  do  more  to  bring  the  Cathedral 
itself  before  the  public  eye. 

You  ask  me  about  funds.  As  yet  we  have  no  funds  at  all  for 
the  Cathedral.  After  the  debt  upon  the  land  was  paid,  I  felt  it 
was  better  to  keep  quiet  for  a  while,  as  I  could  only  have  raised 
funds  in  small  amounts  during  the  past  year,  without  the  help  of 
a  design.  After  the  design,  however,  has  been  adopted  then  I 
expect  to  begin  a  propagandist  work,  and  if  your  plan  for  the 
Cathedral  arouses  enthusiasm,  as  I  hope  and  pray  it  will,  I  antici- 


432  APPENDIX  I 

pate  little  or  no  difficulty  regarding  the  funds  wherewith  to  build 
it.  They  may  not  come  all  at  once,  but  they  will  come  in  increas- 
ing measure. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

April  4,  igoy.  The  keynote  of  the  whole  thing  is  yours.  You 
gave  the  inspiration,  though,  as  you  say,  it  is  pleasant  to  think 
we  have  thought  together.  It  was  on  going  out  that  the  idea 
struck  me  of  the  "Gloria  in  Excelsis"  and  the  angels  round  the 
central  tower;  carrying  out  your  idea  of  the  "Nunc  Dimittis 
Tower,"  the  first  words  could  be  put  over  the  S.  W.  doorway 
inside,  so  that  those  leaving  might  be  reminded  of  the  "Salvation" 
they  have  found,  or  seen. 

I  think  the  idea  of  the  great  Church  girdled  with  the  praise  of 
the  Canticles  is  a  happy  one.  On  the  parapet  of  the  apse  could 
be  carved  the  Ter  Sanctus  —  one  word  on  each  side,  in  large 
letters.  We  must  get  a  thoroughly  good  scheme  of  arrangement 
for  the  legends.  Obviously  the  Magnificat  for  the  Lady  Chapel 
and  the  Benedictus  and  the  Te  Deum  for  the  nave  and  choir 
would  be  the  leading  ideas. 

I  have  been  reading  your  book  with  much  interest  and  edifica- 
tion. It  ought  to  be  well  known  here  in  England  in  these  days  of 
strivings  after  new  creeds  which,  indeed,  are  no  creeds. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

April  28,  1907.  I  am  hoping  that  the  rough  copy  of  the  report 
has  reached  you. 

I  have  been  reading  the  President's  very  interesting  speech 
of  a  few  days  ago.  It  impresses  one  with  the  present  greatness, 
and  with  the  vast  possibilities  for  the  future  of  your  great  country. 
It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  we  may  be  planting  there  a  building 
that  may  lead  to  the  growth  of  a  love  for  old  Gothic  architecture, 
to  the  delight  of  the  New  World,  and  for  the  devotional  feeling  of 
its  future  ages.  The  circumstances  are  unique.  This  wonderful 
Gothic  art,  neglected,  dying,  nearly  dead,  has  such  an  opportunity 
given  it  in  the  building  of  your  Cathedral  that  the  love  and  en- 
thusiasm for  it  may  be  revived,  and  the  Old  World  may  be  recalled 
to  its  early  love.  I  speak  of  the  inherent  power  of  the  style  of  the 
Gothic  architecture,  not,  we  hope,  to  be  all  unworthily  repre- 
sented at  Washington.    May  the  work  prosper! 


APPENDIX  I  433 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

April  2jy  1907.  Last  week  I  received  your  report  on  the 
Washington  Cathedral,  and  I  have  delayed  answering  it  until 
the  Trustees  had  read  it.  They  have  now  done  so,  and  all  are 
much  delighted  with  it. 

I  myself  have  perused  it  over  and  over  again  until  I  think  I 
know  it  by  heart,  and  I  want  to  tell  you  my  feeling  of  thanksgiving 
to  God  and  express  to  you  my  deep  and  grateful  appreciation  of 
all  that  you  and  Mr.  Vaughan  have  done. 

The  report  shows  that  we  have  the  same  ideal,  and  that  the 
Architects,  the  Bishop  and  Chapter,  unite  in  one  hope  and  one 
aspiration  that  the  Washington  Cathedral  may  breathe  the 
atmosphere  of  the  triumph  of  the  Christian  Faith. 

I  see  by  the  papers  today  that  you  have  been  seleded  as  the 
architect  of  the  San  Francisco,  California,  Cathedral,  to  a<5t  with 
another  local  architect.  I  anticipated  this,  and  I  congratulate 
you  as  well  as  the  authorities  of  the  Cathedral  with  all  my 
heart. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

May  4,  1907.  I  heard  today  from  Lord  Curzon  that  the 
honour  of  the  degree  of  D.C.L.  is  to  be  conferred  on  me  by  the 
University  of  Oxford  next  month.  It  is  an  unexpected  pleasure. 
I  hope  it  may,  in  some  degree,  strengthen  the  hands  of  your 
Chapter  and  the  Committee  in  my  being  one  of  your  architects 
for  the  great  work,  —  your  Cathedral.  I  am  the  more  pleased  in 
being  now  connected  with  Oxford,  as  my  collateral  ancestor  was 
the  Founder  of  the  Bodleian  Library. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

May  23,  1907.  The  drawings  and  the  report  are  to  go  off  on 
Wednesday  next.  ...  I  really  think  that  the  design  comes  out 
well  and  that  the  result  will  be  to  your  mind.  The  work  has 
given  me  much  interest  and  pleasure.  Mr.  Vaughan  has  been 
very  retiring  and  very  good.  We  talked  the  matter  well  over 
many  times.  He  will  have  plenty  of  work  later  on,  I  hope,  in 
superintending  the  carrying  out  of  the  great  Cathedral.  Please 
consider  this  note  of  a  private  nature.  You  well  know  what 
I    mean    in    saying  —  as    Mr.    Vaughan    wrote    to    me  —  that 


434  APPENDIX  I 

the  design  must  be  the  work  of  one  man.  I  hope  I  have  not  put 
myself  too  forward.  My  one  desire  —  my  "heart's  desire"  — 
is  for  the  great  work  —  that  it  may  be  right,  and  not  all  un- 
worthy. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

June  8,  1907.  Yesterday  was  a  very  exciting  day.  Your  plans 
arrived  night  before  last  in  the  "Majestic."  .  .  . 

They  were  brought  on  the  night  train,  arriving  yesterday  morn- 
ing at  nine  o'clock,  and  fifteen  minutes  after  they  were  on  my 
wagon,  and  two  hours  later  were  being  considered  by  the  Chapter. 
We  had  a  full  meeting,  only  two  of  the  prominent  members  of  the 
Chapter  had  been  obliged  to  be  out  of  the  City  by  other  appoint- 
ments. All  the  rest  were  present,  and  Mr.  Vaughan,  who  arrived 
the  same  morning  was  present. 

I  cannot  tell  yet  what  the  action  of  the  Chapter  will  be.  I  had 
the  plans  photographed  immediately,  so  that  members  of  the 
Chapter  might  have  copies  to  study  at  leisure,  and  it  may  possibly 
be  a  month  before  they  are  adopted.  I  can  only  say  that  the 
first  impressions  upon  all  the  members  of  the  Chapter,  with  a 
full  explanation,  were  most  favorable. 

For  myself  I  had  formed  a  pretty  accurate  idea  of  what  the 
interior  would  be,  from  your  previous  report,  but  it  surpassed 
my  expectations.  The  water  colour  perspective  of  the  interior  is 
a  real  work  of  art,  and  conveys  the  uplifting  impression  that  I 
wanted  the  Cathedral  to  express.  The  long  continuous  line  of  the 
roof,  with  its  ribs  and  its  exquisite  triphorium  roof  all  the  length; 
the  flood  of  the  light  coming  into  the  chancel  and  making  that  the 
brightest  part  of  the  chancel,  give  a  wonderful  effect. 

The  roof  high  up  in  the  obscurity  under  the  broad  soffit  with 
the  angels  bending  over  it,  is  just  in  the  right  place,  because  with- 
out their  knowing  it,  it  will  act  as  a  suggestion  to  every  beholder 
that  this  building  is  consecrated  to  Christ;  like  the  cross  at  mid- 
day, it  is  half  hid  in  the  darkest  part  of  the  nave,  and  I  would 
suggest  that  the  rood  beam  upon  which  it  stands,  should  be  in- 
scribed in  large  letters,  "And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all 


men  unto  me." 


The  worshipping  congregation  will  often  look  up,  and  realize 
that  they  are  gathered  beneath  the  cross  of  Jesus,  and  then  look- 
ing toward  the  bright  light  that  falls  upon  the  altar  cross,  they 


APPENDIX  I  435 

cannot  help  saying  that  the  Crucifixion  leads  up  to  the  Resurrection 
and  Ascension. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  exterior.  From  what  you  had  previously 
written,  I  expected  to  be  disappointed  as  regards  its  severe  sim- 
plicity, and  I  cannot  describe  to  you  my  sensations  when  I  first 
saw  it.  I  was  disappointed  in  my  expectations,  but  it  was  in  the 
way  of  joy.  I  have  stood  looking  upon  it  from  the  first  time  I 
saw  it  with  a  sense  of  thankfulness  to  God.  The  wonderful  har- 
mony and  proportion  of  all  its  parts,  the  increase  of  ornamenta- 
tion in  statues  and  pinnacles,  as  one  approaches  the  sanctuary, 
and  the  difference  in  structure  of  the  chancel  and  from  the  nave; 
the  bold  south  end  of  the  transept  with  its  deep  recessed  windows, 
and  with  its  deeply  recessed  openings,  give  me  a  sensation  of 
delight. 

Last  but  not  least,  I  must  mention  the  apsidal  end;  with 
sanctuary  windows  high  up,  they  are  as  beautiful  as  a  spring 
song  to  me.  In  fact,  my  dear  Mr.  Bodley,  I  cannot  say  more  than 
that  the  exterior  is  just  as  satisfactory  to  me  as  the  interior.  It 
was  a  revelation  to  me,  and  it  must  have  been  to  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Chapter,  because  those  who  were  wont  to  criticise  had 
no  criticism  to  offer. 

Mr.  Vaughan  will  tell  you  of  the  subdued  serene  pleasure  with 
which  all  the  members  of  the  Chapter  contemplated  the  two 
perspective  drawings  after  they  had  been  interpreted  by  Mr. 
Vaughan  from  the  architectural  plans. 

The  one  criticism  that  I  have  heard  from  the  Chapter  was 
that  the  west  end  towers  were  too  low,  and  that  in  the  interior 
the  choir  ought  to  be  more  than  one  step  above  the  floor  of  the 
nave. 

Regarding  the  stone,  the  Chapter  are  unanimous  in  thinking 
that  the  specimen  of  red  stone  shown  to  us  by  Mr.  Vaughan  with 
your  approval,  is  entirely  too  dark,  but  I  am  sure  they  would  be 
equally  unanimous  in  agreeing  that  if  the  interior  and  exterior 
could  be  exactly  the  same  as  that  in  your  two  perspective  water 
colours,  it  would  suit  them  exactly. 

For  myself  I  would  say  that  your  artist  in  both  these  water 
colour  sketches  has  hit  exactly  upon  the  shade  of  stone  that  I 
myself  desire. 

The  one  thing  that  I  have  had  in  my  eye  since  I  saw  you  is  the 
Alhambra,  and  these  sketches  are  as  close  to  that  colour  as  it 
could  possibly  be  desired. 


436  APPENDIX  I 

If  the  Cathedral  can  be  built  of  stone  that  hue,  we  shall  all  be 

delighted. 

I  feel  more  than  ever  my  dear  Mr.  Bodley  that  God  has  been 
leading  us  all  toward  one  ideal  of  the  Cathedral  which  you  and 
Mr.  Vaughan  have  only  translated  but  added  a  higher  inspiration. 
"Prosper  Thou  our  handiwork." 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

June  18, 1907.  I  am  glad  to  hear  today  from  Mr.  Vaughan  that 
the  design  for  the  Cathedral  is  approved  and  was  well  received 
by  the  Committee  and  has  your  discerning,  full  support.  Mr. 
Vaughan  tells  me  the  western  towers  were  thought  somewhat 
low.  When  the  view  from  the  West  is  at  Washington  I  venture 
to  think  that  the  height  will  be  judged  to  be  right  in  proportion. 
It  is  the  distant  view  that  makes  the  west  towers  look  low.  The 
actual  height  is  very  considerable  —  as  high  as  many  tall  spires. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

June  26,  1907.  Perhaps  it  is  worth  while  to  mention  that  at  the 
conferring  of  degrees  today  I  found  myself  sitting  next  to  Mr. 
Whitelaw  Reid  and  I  spoke  to  him  about  the  Cathedral.  He,  as 
you  know,  is  the  American  Minister  [Ambassador]  in  London.  He 
was  interested  and  I  said  I  would  send  him  some  photographs  of 
the  design,  which  he  said  he  should  be  glad  to  see.  He  had  heard 
of  the  scheme  favourably. 

Possibly  influence  might  be  brought  to  bear,  as  he  would  interest 
Americans  in  England.  He  and  "Mark  Twain"  received  the 
D.C.L.  degree  with  many  others,  it  being  Lord  Curzon's  first 
commemoration  as  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Oxford. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

July  15,  1907.  The  west  front  arrived  three  days  ago,  and  I 
have  been  studying  it  hour  by  hour,  ever  since,  until  now  I  have 
the  haunting  sensation  of  having  actually  sat  beneath  the  central 
arch  watching  the  effecl:  of  sunlight  and  shadow,  as  the  sun  went 

down. 

And  the  more  I  study  the  west  front,  the  more  of  an  inspira- 
tion it  becomes.  (I  did  not  feel  so  at  first  for  reasons  that  I  shall 
come  to,  by  and  by.) 

The  magnificent  central  arch  flanked  by  the  two  strong  towers 
is  a  strong  and  very  difficult  conception,  and  it  grows  and  grows 


APPENDIX   I  437 

on  one,  the  more  it  is  gazed  upon.  It  betokens  the  grandeur  of 
the  House  of  God,  into  which  one  is  entering.  As  you  say,  there 
is  a  "rush  upward "  in  every  part.  And  the  great  cavernous 
porch  conveys  the  idea  of  a  " temple  not  made  with  hands"  which 
gives  shelter,  like  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land. 

I  like  your  west  front  better  than  that  of  any  Cathedral  in 
England;  better,  on  the  whole,  than  any  French  facade,  for  you 
gain  the  deep  recessed  doorway  and  its  effect,  without  the  masked 
porch,  which  always  seems  to  me  like  a  "trick  of  the  trade." 
Tour  porch  is  genuine  and  real,  a  very  part  of  the  Cathedral. 

I  think  it  is  a  very  grand,  a  very  original  conception  of  yours 
and  Mr.  Vaughan's;  and  yet  like  all  original  ideas  in  architecture, 
it  seems  to  me  only  partly  and  imperfectly  worked  out. 

Will  you  allow  me,  with  great  diffidence,  to  tell  you  my  thoughts 
about  it?  I  do  so  with  the  painful  consciousness  that  it  is  always 
more  easy  to  criticise  than  to  create.  I  know  so  little  about  the 
"technique"  that  I  feel  I  ought  to  keep  silence,  and  yet  for  the 
sake  of  one  common  ideal  of  the  Cathedral,  —  yes,  because  of 
my  admiration  of  your  facade  —  I  feel  as  though  I  must  speak 
out. 

Your  west  front  gains  when  one  contrasts  it  with  other  cathe- 
drals of  England  and  of  France;  but  it  loses  by  contrast  with  the 
rest  of  Washington  Cathedral  as  you  designed  it. 

It  does  not  convey  the  same  sense  of  exquisite  proportion  and 
refinement.  It  seems  to  me  like  a  great  idea  which  is  inadequately 
expressed. 

Let  me  begin  with  the  towers. 

I  have  for  years  had  a  vision  of  a  Gothic  "campanile"  (al- 
together different  from  the  Giralda  of  Seville  or  from  Giotto's  at 
Florence),  and  have  wondered  if  I  should  ever  see  one.  Your 
towers  came  to  me  as  a  surprise.  They  are  not  only  fascinating 
suggestions  of  the  campanile.  They  are  campanili  in  strength, 
in  simplicity,  in  soaring  majesty.  They  have  the  combined 
northern  and  southern  feeling. 

But  the  towers  are  dwarfed  by  their  buttresses.  They  have 
not  the  clear,  straight,  telling  line  of  the  campanile,  or  even  of 
your  own  central  tower. 

Every  visitor  is  impressed  by  the  majestic  west  towers  of  Dur- 
ham and  Lincoln,  which  seem  so  much  higher  than  they  really 
are.  Everyone  is  disappointed  with  the  west  towers  of  Canter- 
bury and  Westminster  Abbey.     They  always  seem  insignificant, 


438  APPENDIX  I 

and,  yet,  I  suppose  they  are  just  as  high  as  those  of  Lincoln  and 

Durham. 

I  think  the  clumsy  look  of  Canterbury's  west  front  comes 
largely  from  these  heavily  buttressed  towers. 

I  have  observed  that  the  general  impression  is  somewhat  sim- 
ilar regarding  the  towers  of  Washington's  west  front.  I  think 
they  are  high  enough  and  in  beautiful  proportion  with  the  rest 
of  the  Cathedral,  but  the  buttresses  give  them  a  wavy,  uncertain 
outline,  where  one  longs  for  a  clear,  distincl:  four-square  appear- 
ance.   They  lose  in  dignity  and  force,  on  account  of  the  buttresses. 

There  is  to  me  a  sense  of  disproportion  somewhere  about  the 
west  front,  and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  must  be 
caused  by  the  treatment  of  the  space  between  the  top  of  the  cen- 
tral arch  and  peak  of  the  Cathedral  roof. 

Somehow  it  looks  topheavy.  It  is  the  other  extreme  to  Peter- 
borough facade  which  always  seems  to  be  unseemly  light  above 

the  arches. 

The  hard  angular  roof-line  of  the  gable  seems  to  have  always 
been  a  crux  in  the  treatment  of  the  west  facade  The  French 
architects  who  devoted  more  thought  to  the  west  front  than  any 
other  nation  seem  to  have  felt  this  painfully,  and  in  their  greatest 
Cathedrals  consequently  they  masked  the  gable  of  the  nave.  It 
is  so  at  Rheims,  Amiens,  Notre  Dame,  Paris,  Chartres,  Orleans,  etc. 

And  the  contrast  between  these  Cathedrals,  with  the  angular 
west  front  gables  of  Nantes,  Bayonne,  etc.,  shows  the  architects 

motive  plainly. 

I  think  the  French  architects  devoted  too  much  attention  to 
the  west  front.  They  exaggerated  its  importance  at  the  expense 
of  the  rest  of  the  Cathedral.  They  lavished  too  much  ornamenta- 
tion upon  it.  The  lace  work  effed  takes  away  from  the  dignity 
of  the  house  of  God. 

But  if  on  the  one  hand,  the  French  devoted  too  much  attention 
to  the  west  front,  I  think  the  English  on  the  other  hand  have 
devoted  too  little.  And  this  seems  especially  noteworthy  regard- 
ing the  treatment  of  the  gable. 

And  it  seems  to  me  if  there  were  a  less  heavy  look  about  your 
design  for  the  west  front  of  Washington,  if  there  were  a  good  deal 
more  of  broken  surface,  more  of  light  and  shadow,  more  of  tra- 
ceried  efFedl  between  the  top  of  the  central  arch  and  the  peak  of 
the  nave  roof,  it  would  be  better. 


APPENDIX  I  439 

How  this  is  to  be  done,  you  will  know!  I  do  not,  and  I  am  afraid 
you  will  call  me  an  ignoramus,  if  I  make  any  suggestions,  yet  for 
the  sake  of  the  ideal,  and  simply  to  explain  my  meaning,  I  will 
venture  to  do  so,  if  you  will  forgive  me.  They  are  only  sugges- 
tions, to  serve  until  you  replace  them  with  something  better. 

I  know  your  desire  to  repress  ornamentation  at  the  west  front, 
and  reserve  it  for  the  sanctuary  end  of  the  Cathedral.  I  heartily 
sympathize  with  you  in  this  ruling  thought  for  the  whole  Cathe- 
dral, and  yet,  I  venture  to  think  that  the  west  end  is  too  severely 
plain. 

It  is  full  of  grandeur,  but  it  is  too  gloomy  and  austere.  It 
repels  rather  than  invites.  It  gives  a  false  idea  of  the  house  of 
God. 

The  dominating  note  of  the  west  front  ought  of  course  to  be 
grandeur  leading  on  to  beauty  of  holiness  in  Christ;  but  one  longs 
for  the  note  of  "welcome,"  blended  with  the  dominant,  in  a  chord. 
The  name  of  Christ's  religion  is  "  Gospel, "  —  good  news.  The  one 
oft  repeated  word  of  the  New  Testament  is  "come."  Think  of 
all  the  texts  in  which  it  occurs. 

•  •••*•••••», 

It  is  a  real  joy  to  me  that  I  can  write  to  the  Cathedral  architect 
in  such  unreserved  frankness,  knowing  that  our  ideals  are  the  same. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  G.  F.  B. 

July  16,  igoy.  The  facade  of  the  Cathedral  so  enthralls  me 
and  at  the  same  time  gives  me  so  much  anxiety,  so  much  of  a 
longing  for  the  fuller  expression  of  an  ideal  which  you  have  both 
translated  and  uplifted  in  your  Cathedral,  that  I  cannot  keep  si- 
lent. I  must  speak,  even  at  the  risk  of  repeating  myself  and  what 
I  said  in  my  last  letter.    I  emphasize  my  former  words. 

Your  west  front,  like  your  interior,  inspires  me  the  more  I 
look  upon  it.  As  I  have  said  Matins  over  and  over  again  with 
the  photograph  of  the  interior  before  me,  and  feel  as  though  I 
have  said  Morning  Prayer  in  the  Cathedral  itself;  I  have  stood 
and  sat  in  spirit  before  the  west  front,  repeating  to  myself  the 
Jubilate  and  Benedictus,  until  I  drank  in  the  inspiration  of  your 
theme. 

The  west  front  conveys  only  half  of  its  message.  It  strikes  only 
one  note;   not  the  full  chord. 

It  is  very  massive,  very  uplifting  in  grandeur,  but  it  is  too  hard, 
too  severe,  too  bare.     I  know  you  want  to  keep  the  omamenta- 


44o  APPENDIX  I 

tion  for  the  sandtuary  and  I  thoroughly  sympathize  with  you  in 
this.  But  I  know  also  what  the  popular  thought  will  be  in  stand- 
ing before  the  facade.  It  will  be  that  the  west  front  has  too  many 
hard,  severe  lines.  It  is  too  Puritanical  and  austere  for  Christ's 
religion.  The  people  will  see  it  by  itself.  They  will  not  catch 
your  subtle  thought  that  it  is  only  a  part  of  the  whole,  and  that 
the  beauty  of  holiness  comes  afterward. 

And  the  Cathedral  is  Christ's  house  of  Prayer  for  all  people. 
We  must  enter  into  their  thought  and  meet  it.  And  I  think  you 
can  easily  do  this  without  really  sacrificing  your  own  ideal  of 
progressive  enrichment. 

It  is  with  great  diffidence  that  I  venture  to  make  any  sugges- 
tions to  such  a  Master  as  yourself.  If  you  were  less  of  a  Master, 
I  should  not  dare  to  do  it,  but  I  know  you  will  take  my  words 
only  for  what  they  are  worth. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

July  31,  1907.  I  am  sorry  you  do  not  quite  like  the  west  facade. 
In  showing  the  drawings  to  friends,  and  many  of  them  experts, 
and  of  architectural  minds,  I  found  it  was  the  west  end  that  they 
very  chiefly  praised,  thinking  it  original  and  of  a  good  general 
outline  and  mass.  The  effecl:  of  four  legs  really  would  not  be  there. 
It  will  be  one  of  three  arches  in  a  cliff-like  wall. 

Tower  buttresses  help  to  improve  the  outline  of  a  tower.  They 
give  it  a  look  of  growth.  An  unbuttressed  campanile  is  one  thing, 
—  a  northern  Gothic  tower  with  its  detail  and  its  beauty  of  out- 
line is  another  and  a  higher  work  of  art. 

I  cannot  much  admire  the  outline  of  Giotto's  Campanile. 

G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Sept.  13,  1907.  The  new  elevation  of  the  west  facade  will  be 
sent  to  you  in  a  day  or  two  —  in  time  for  your  gathering,  I  hope. 
It  is  enriched  and  the  towers  a  little  higher.  Your  idea  for  the 
subject  of  the  Cleansing  of  the  Temple  is  embodied. 

Ruskin  tells  one  that  two  towers  on  a  west  front  should  not 
be  just  alike.  And,  indeed,  old  ones  were  not.  I  have  now  slightly 
varied  the  towers  in  the  arrangement  of  their  detail,  while  the 


APPENDIX  I  441 

whole  shape  and  mass  is  the  same  in  both.  This  is  in  harmony 
with  the  genius  of  Gothic  art  and  with  the  animus  of  nature.  It 
gives  an  interest  and  variety  too.  At  first  sight  the  difference 
would  not  be  seen.    I  think  the  little  variation  is  desirable. 

P.  S.  I  am  anxious  to  hear  about  the  stone  to  be  used.  It  is 
a  very  important  question.     I  quite  incline  to  that  best  red  stone. 

P.  S.  I  should  very  much  like  to  ask  for  your  prayers,  for  I 
am  not  well.  It  is  but  indigestion,  but  a  bad  attack,  making  me 
very  weak  in  body. 

Cable  from  Executors  of  G.  F.  B.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

November  5,  1907.  Please  await  letter  Bodley's  executors 
before  any  decision  about  Cathedral.     Bodley. 

From  H.  Y.  S.  to  Estate  of  G.  F.  B. 

Nov.  27,  1907.  I  acknowledge  with  thanks  the  receipt  of  your 
kind  letter  of  recent  date,  in  which  you  inform  me  that  Mr.  Hare 
and  the  office  of  the  late  Dr.  Bodley  desire  to  continue  the  work 
which  Dr.  Bodley  so  efficiently  began. 

In  reply  to  your  letter,  I  would  say  that  the  arrangement 
with  Messrs.  Bodley  and  Vaughan  has  expired,  the  work  for 
which  they  were  employed  having  been  accomplished. 

I  desire  to  add  that  the  plans  which  were  presented  and  unani- 
mously accepted  by  the  Cathedral  Board  are  most  satisfactory  in 
every  respect.  We  feel  that  this  will  be  the  most  beautiful  Cathe- 
dral on  the  American  Continent,  and  shall  ever  hold  the  memory 
of  Dr.  Bodley  in  grateful  appreciation  for  his  part  of  the  work. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 
Oft.  8 y  1906.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  Cathe- 
dral Chapter  today,  a  resolution  was  unanimously  passed,  asking 
you  and  Mr.  Bodley  to  prepare  preliminary  plans  for  the  Wash- 
ington Cathedral,  with  the  understanding  that  if  these  designs 
shall  be  accepted  by  the  Chapter  you  shall  be  the  associate  archi- 
tects who  are  to  build  the  Cathedral. 

I  assure  you,  as  I  have  also  done  Mr.  Bodley,  that  I  feel  that 
God  is  leading  us  onward,  step  by  step,  in  response  to  our  con- 
tinued intercession. 


442  APPENDIX  I 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Odober  10,  igo6.  I  am  very  much  pleased  to  hear  that  Mr. 
Bodley  and  I  have  been  asked  to  prepare  preliminary  plans  for 
the  Washington  Cathedral.  I  have  written  to  Mr.  Bodley  and 
sincerely  hope  he  will  accede  to  your  request  and  come  at  once. 
As  far  as  I  am  concerned  I  gratefully  accept  the  commission  and 
shall  await  Mr.  Bodley's  letter  with  no  little  anxiety.  My  only 
fear  is  that  Mr.  Bodley  may  object  to  have  his  name  come  last  in 
the  partnership. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

Odober  12,  igo6.  I  have  just  received  your  kind  letter  and  am 
glad  to  hear  that  you  accept. 

I  received  a  cable  from  Mr.  Bodley,  to  the  following  effect: 

"Very  gratified.  Will  come  in  Novem- 
ber.      Cannot     earlier.        Writing." 

which  means  of  course  that  he  accepts. 

Regarding  the  order  of  names.  I  have  had  a  good  deal  of 
correspondence  with  Mr.  Bodley  this  summer  and  he  perfectly 
understands  the  conditions.  We  expect  him  to  take,  and  I  hope 
that  you  will  have  no  objections  to  his  taking,  the  initiative,  but 
you  have  been  so  long  in  America  that  you  are  looked  upon  as  an 
American  architect,  and  the  Cathedral  Chapter  certainly  desire 
to  have  the  name  of  an  American  stand  first. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Odober  15,  igo6.  I  am  very  much  pleased  to  hear  that  Mr. 
Bodley  has  accepted.  I  will  let  you  know  in  a  day  or  two  when 
I  can  come  to  Washington. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

Odober  16,  igo6.  I  have  just  received  a  cablegram  from  Mr. 
Bodley  saying  that  he  is  leaving  England  on  the  21st  of  November 
and  will  probably  be  here  about  December  1st.  .  .  .  I  have  some 
pretty  definite  ideas  about  the  future  Cathedral,  which  I  should 
like  to  lay  before  you  and  Mr.  Bodley  before  the  design  is  made. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

December  12,  iqo6.  While  I  feel  open  to  conviction  regarding 
the  red  stone  for  the  exterior  of  the  Cathedral,  I  am  not  at  all 
convinced  that  it  would  be  the  best  thing. 


APPENDIX  I  443 

Since  you  were  here  different  members  of  the  Cathedral  Chapter 
have  spoken  to  me  about  this  matter,  and  the  feeling  of  many  of 
them  upon  this  point  is  even  stronger  than  my  own.  Washington 
is  often  known,  quite  universally,  by  the  sobriquet  of  the  "white 
city,"  because  all  the  public  buildings  are  white. 

There  has  been  a  general  expectation  that  the  Cathedral  itself 
should  be  of  the  colour  of  purity. 

Again  in  the  atmosphere  of  Washington,  the  effect  of  these 
white  buildings  is  exceedingly  pleasing.  However,  I  myself  do 
not  share  the  desire  for  such  a  Cathedral.  A  white  building  near 
by  always  looks  cold  and  formal  (as  witness  St.  Patrick's  Cathe- 
dral, New  York,  and  Milan  Cathedral,  etc.);  but  I  do  most  dis- 
tinctly share  the  feeling  that  a  colour  which  at  a  distance  would 
give  the  appearance  of  our  Cathedral  being  built  of  brick  would 
be  unfortunate. 

Mr.  Bodley  does  not  know  how  Americans  feel  about  brick 
buildings,  and  how  this  is  "rubbed  in"  by  the  number  of  villages 
that  are  called  "brick  church";  how  it  is  associated  with  sec- 
tarianism in  the  American  mind,  or  how  Americans  would  feel 
in  visiting  the  Capital  of  the  United  States,  after  beholding  all 
the  Government  buildings,  appearing  in  the  distance  transparently 
pure  and  white,  it  they  should  see  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  which 
cuts  the  Western  sky  and  is  seen  from  all  parts  of  the  City,  an 
opaque  red  brick  looking  Cathedral. 

People  here  would  be  sure  to  compare  it  with  the  Pension 
Office,  said  to  be  the  largest  brick  building  in  the  world,  which 
is  an  eye-sore  to  all  Washingtonians. 

I  wish,  my  dear  Mr.  Vaughan,  you  could  see  the  Pension  Office 
yourself,  as  it  rears  itself  up  above  other  buildings,  in  its  pris- 
tine ugliness. 

Now,  while  the  Cathedral  Chapter  are  open  to  conviction  and 
probably  would  yield  to  me,  if  I  were  to  press  the  point,  I  myself 
deprecate  the  brick  colour,  and  therefore  could  not  press  it. 

Under  these  circumstances  I  feel  persuaded  that  the  majority 
of  the  Chapter  would  be  against  a  red  Cathedral.  I  wish  this 
point  could  be  settled  before  you  go  to  England,  either  by  you 
coming  here  to  Washington,  to  show  the  Chapter  different  stones 
so  that  they  might  express  their  preference  or  else  by  your  send- 
ing different  specimens  of  stone  for  our  Inspection. 

I  think  the  members  of  the  Chapter  would  be  willing  to  give 
up  their  preference  for  a  white  Cathedral,  if  the  warm  cream- 


444  APPENDIX  I, 

coloured  stone,  with  a  strong  tinge  of  red  were  decided  upon,  but 
I  doubt  if  they  would  go  further  than  this. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

December  14,  iqo6.  I  fully  understand  your  objections  to  dark 
red  stone  for  Washington  Cathedral.  Some  years  ago  I  used  a 
very  light  red  stone  from  New  Jersey,  which  I  think  you  will  like. 
I  expecl  to  hear  in  a  day  or  two  if  there  is  an  unlimited  supply  of 
this  stone  to  be  had.  I  am  afraid  it  is  not  red  enough  to  satisfy 
Mr.  Bodley,  but  of  course  the  final  decision  of  the  stone  will  rest 
with  yourself  and  the  Chapter.  I  sincerely  hope  the  decision  will 
not  be  for  white  stone. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

7  Gray's  Inn  Square,  London,  March  5,  1907.  I  have  your 
letter  and  the  sample  of  granite.  It  will  hardly  be  possible  to  build 
a  Gothic  Cathedral  such  as  we  are  designing  of  granite.  I  know 
it  is  what  they  are  using  for  the  New  York  Cathedral  and  it  is 
for  granite  very  rich  and  warm  in  colour. 

Mr.  Bodley  is  very  pleased  with  Lake  Superior  sand-stone.  It 
is  the  lightest  red  stone  that  I  could  find  in  America.  In  colour 
and  texture  it  is  very  like  the  best  English  red  stone. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

May  17,  1907.  I  do  not  know  much  about  the  laying  of  corner 
stones.  I  suppose  that  it  ought  to  be  put  on  the  highest  ground, 
that  the  real  foundation  might  be  laid  beneath  it,  and  this  highest 
ground  as  you  know  would  be  on  the  West. 

Personally  I  do  not  care  where  the  corner  stone  goes,  but  for 
sentiment's  sake,  I  would  prefer  that  it  should  not  afterwards  have 
to  be  moved,  but  I  suppose  that  this  is  after  all  a  secondary 
consideration. 

But  the  point  I  want  to  make  is,  that  I  wish  to  utilize  the  time 
when  all  the  Bishops  will  be  in  Washington,  and  the  Bishop  of 
London  himself,  that  the  occasion  may  thus  become  an  historic 
and  memorable  one.  Please  give  me  your  thoughts  upon  this 
subject. 

Second.  —  In  place  of  the  corner  stone,  we  could  have  a  founda- 
tion stone,  which  could  be  laid  anywhere  within  the  area  deter- 
mined upon  for  Washington  Cathedral.    It  might  be  under  the  wall 


APPENDIX  I  445 

or  under  the  floor  of  the  crypt  of  the  Cathedral.  Its  significance 
would  be  not  its  structural  utility,  but  the  fadt  that  it  was  the 
first  foundation  stone  of  Washington  Cathedral. 

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •     .  •  •  *  # 

Fourth. — Regarding  the  character  of  the  stone  itself,  I  have 
thought  that  it  might  be  a  reminder  of  Jacob's  Pillar,  which  he 
set  up  in  the  place  where  he  had  his  dream,  and  called  Beth-el, 
House  of  God.  See  Gen.  xxviii,  11-22.  But  this  is  only  a  sug- 
gestion. There  are  other  Biblical  associations  that  might  be 
connected  with  it  instead  of  this,  but  I  cannot  think  of  them  now. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 
May  18,  1907.  I  have  written  to  Mr.  Bodley  telling  him  how 
very  anxious  you  are  to  have  the  drawings  at  once.  I  don't  see 
how  the  corner  stone  can  be  laid  in  its  permanent  position  with- 
out having  a  proper  foundation  for  it  to  rest  upon  and  we  can 
hardly  put  in  any  part  of  the  permanent  foundation  until  the  plan 
of  the  Cathedral  is  settled  upon. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

May  21,  1907.  I  rather  anticipated  what  you  would  say  about 
laying  the  corner  stone,  but  it  struck  me  that  we  might  utilize 
the  occasion  which  is  before  us  next  autumn  on  the  Sunday  before 
the  meeting  of  the  General  Convention,  when  so  many  Bishops 
will  be  present,  by  laying,  not  "the"  corner  stone,  but  "a"  foun- 
dation stone. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

May  23,  1907.  I  have  thought  a  good  deal  over  your  letter 
regarding  the  laying  of  a  foundation  stone  on  September  29th 
and  can  think  of  no  better  solution  of  the  problem  than  the  one 
you  suggest,  i.e.,  to  place  it  under  where  the  Altar  will  probably 
come  and  not  to  have  it  form  part  of  the  construction. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

May  25,  1907.  Thank  you  for  your  letter  in  answer  to  mine. 
I  am  sorry  we  cannot  lay  the  corner  stone  itself,  of  the  Cathedral, 
and  if  we  have  no  better  solution  than  that  of  a  foundation  stone 
under  the-  altar,  we  have  tins  at  least  to  think  of  and  arrange 
for. 


446  APPENDIX  I 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

May  28,  1907.  I  follow  up  my  last  letter  by  saying  that  we 
have  got  exactly  the  idea  for  the  Foundation  Stone  of  the  Wash- 
ington Cathedral,  which  is  to  be  beneath  the  Cathedral  Altar. 

I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  thing  that  is  worthy 
of  the  consecrated  ground  beneath  the  great  Altar  itself,  is  a 
Crypt-Chapel  of  the  Nativity.  We  shall  leave  it  to  the  architects 
at  some  future  time  to  determine  the  size  and  shape  of  this  Crypt- 
Chapel,  suffice  to  say  that  the  old  sentiments  which  placed  a  lady 
chapel  behind  the  Altar,  are  not  to  my  mind  as  helpful  as  that 
which  places  the  Crypt-Chapel  of  the  Nativity  beneath  the  Altar, 
for  the  Incarnation  is  the  foundation  of  the  Crucifixion,  Resur- 
rection and  the  whole  Christian  Faith,  and  just  at  present,  when 
the  thought  of  the  Church  itself  is  upon  the  Virgin  Birth  of  Christ, 
it  seems  most  appropriate  that  Washington  Cathedral  should 
bear  witness  to  His  Virgin  Birth. 

I  have  written  a  letter  to  a  friend  of  mine  in  Jerusalem  to  pro- 
cure a  stone  from  Bethlehem  to  insert  in  this  Foundation  Stone 
of  the  Cathedral. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

May  31,  1907.  I  highly  approve  of  your  suggestion  of  a  Chapel 
of  the  Nativity  beneath  the  great  Altar.  Our  plans  for  the  east 
end  will  have  to  be  changed,  but  this  can  easily  be  done. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

June  18,  1907.  Both  the  Chapter  and  Council  have  unani- 
mously endorsed  the  plan  of  the  Bethlehem  Chapel  in  the  crypt. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 
July  2,  1907.  I  have  not  yet  seen  any  reports  or  critiques 
from  the  architectural  journals  regarding  Washington  Cathedral. 
Is  there  any  way  in  which  we  can  communicate  with  these  jour- 
nals? My  secretary  has  sent  the  report  with  photographs  to  all 
whose  names  I  could  secure.  Have  you  any  friend  who  could  call 
informally  to  see  the  editors,  or  can  you  suggest  any  way  in 
which  I  could  do  this? 

I  have  heard  from  the  Holy  Land  and  my  friend  there  will 
send  a  small  stone  chipped  from  the  rock  in  the  garden  of  the 
Church   of  the   Nativity,  weighing  four  or  five   pounds,  with  a 


APPENDIX  I  447 

photograph  of  the  spot  from  which  the  stone  is  hewn  authenticated 
by  the  American  Consul  at  Jerusalem.  So  we  shall  have  the 
Bethlehem  Stone  on  time  and  in  time  for  the  service.  How  shall 
we  use  it?  Had  it  not  better  be  enclosed  in  a  larger  stone,  with  a 
sentence  carved  upon  it?    Have  you  any  suggestions? 

I  have  no  end  of  things  to  say  about  the  architecture.  The 
study  of  the  Cathedral  is  a  perpetual  delight  to  me,  the  designs 
surpass  my  expectations  and  the  adverse  criticisms  that  occur  to 
me  relate  to  subordinate  matters. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

July  6, 1907.  The  architectural  journals  always  keep  drawings 
that  are  sent  to  them  a  long  time  before  they  are  published.  They 
get  a  great  many  drawings  and  profess  to  publish  them  in  the 
order  in  which  they  are  received.  I  dare  say,  however,  if  you 
were  to  write  they  might  make  an  exception  in  your  favor.  It 
would  be  useless  my  writing. 

With  the  exception  of  the  American  Architecl  (a  weekly  paper) 
the  journals  are  only  published  monthly.  .  .  .  B.  never  has  a 
good  word  to  say  for  Gothic,  in  fad:  he  has  been  writing  against 
it  for  years. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

Undated.  I  am  sending  you  herewith,  a  copy  of  the  little 
booklet  which  I  propose  publishing  at  once,  in  the  same  envelope 
with  letters  in  which  I  shall  ask  for  funds  for  the  laying  of  the 
corner  stone.  And  I  should  like  you  to  read  it  and  make  any  sug- 
gestions or  corrections  or  additions  in  pencil  between  lines,  and 
return  to  me  at  your  earliest  convenience. 

But  if  after  reading  the  book  some  one  should  be  so  taken  with 
it  and  with  the  ideal  of  the  Cathedral  as  to  offer  to  give  the  whole 
foundation  as  a  memorial,  then  of  course  we  could  make  the 
Chapel  far  more  beautiful. 

May  God  put  it  into  the  heart  of  some  one  to  do  this!    But  no 
one  will  unless  the  book  is  issued  speedily  —  this  very  month. 
•         ••••»•••... 

We  have  no  money  now  to  begin  the  work.  We  depend  a  great 
deal  upon  the  plans  and  the  favorable  impression  that  the  plans 


448  APPENDIX  I 

make  and  I  am  hoping  that  the  publication  of  the  little  book  will 
be  the  beginning  of  a  propagandist  work  for  raising  money. 
We  must  not  let  the  grass  grow  beneath  our  feet. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

July  13,  1907.  I  return  herewith  the  copy  of  your  pamphlet 
which  I  have  read  with  much  pleasure.  Your  description  of  the 
design  is  very  good  indeed,  and  I  have  no  suggestion  to  make. 
I  have  marked  in  pencil  the  length  of  the  English  Cathedrals,  but 
have  made  no  other  notes  on  your  copy.  The  little  book  is  sure 
to  interest  people,  and  I  sincerely  hope  it  will  induce  them  to  give 

liberally. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

July  20,  igoy.  Thank  you  for  congratulating  me  on  receiving 
the  M.A.  degree  from  Yale.  I  don't  know  how  it  came  about. 
Mr.  Bodley  says  it  is  a  tribute  of  respecl:  to  Gothic  architecture. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

August  31,  1907.  We  had  a  most  impressive  little  service  at 
the  turning  of  the  first  sod.  I  really  think  the  few  people  present 
and  the  downfall  of  rain  added  to  its  impressiveness.  All  the  same 
we  must  hope  for  a  fine  day  for  the  29th. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

Odober  21st.  I  suppose  you  received  by  cable  the  same  sad 
news  that  came  to  me  this  morning.  I  am  completely  stunned 
by  it,  and  yet  I  always  knew  that  at  Mr.  Bodley's  age  the  end 
could  not  be  far  distant.  I  am  more  than  ever  grateful  now  that 
you  and  he  were  able  to  complete  your  design  for  Washington 
Cathedral  before  he  passed  away.  I  feel  deeply  that  God  has 
been  leading  us  all  in  the  events  of  the  past  year. 

I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bodley  only  yesterday,  in  which 
he  expressed  his  regret  that  the  English  newspapers  had  so  much 
more  to  say  about  the  lawn  tennis  than  the  Cathedral  service  at 
which  the  Bishop  of  London  was  present,  and  was  on  the  point 
of  answering  today  telling  him  how  I  shared  his  feeling.  I  sup- 
pose we  ought  to  have  a  meeting  of  the  Chapter  at  an  early  day 
at  which  I  may  announce  Mr.  Bodley's  death. 

It  will  be  a  beautiful  memory  of  the  past  that  your  minds  were 
so  full  of  the  Cathedral  itself  that  neither  of  you  had  time  to 


APPENDIX  I  449 

think  of  the  financial  side.  Now  for  your  own  sake,  I  think  you 
ought  to  have  the  details  settled  as  soon  as  possible,  as  now 
matters  pass  out  of  Mr.  Bodley's  hands  into  those  of  his  estate. 


H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

Oclober  22y  1907.  Thank  you  for  your  kind  letter  and  the  tele- 
gram. I  received  a  cable  yesterday  telling  me  of  my  dear  old 
master's  death.  I  knew  that  his  heart  was  weak,  and  that  he 
might  pass  away  at  any  time.  It  gave  me  a  great  shock  all  the 
same  when  I  read  the  short  cable  message. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

December  jj,  1907.  The  Committee  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Cathedral  Foundation,  appointed  by  the  Chapter  at  its 
meeting  on  November  25th,  1907,  to  consider  and  report  upon  the 
subject  of  the  selection  of  an  Architect  for  the  new  Cathedral,  and 
authorized  by  the  Chapter  at  its  meeting  on  December  5th,  to 
select  and  appoint  an  architect,  has  the  honor  to  offer  you  this 
position. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

December  26y  1907.  It  is  a  great  relief  to  my  mind  to  know 
exactly  the  number  of  seats  the  Cathedral  will  hold,  although  on 
the  other  hand  I  am  distressed  to  find  that  the  actual  sittings  will 
be  less  than  two  thousand.  In  some  way  it  will  have  to  be  brought 
up  above  two  thousand  even  if  the  transepts  have  to  be  lengthened. 
This  is  the  only  serious  problem  in  my  mind  as  far  as  I  can  see 
that  still  faces  us.  We  ought  to  be  able  to  state  accurately  that 
the  sittings  in  the  nave  and  transepts,  apart  from  all  others,  will 
be  over  two  thousand,  because  there  are  many  parish  churches 
in  America,  which  with  their  galleries,  hold  this  number.  I  have 
thought  that  by  the  addition  of  transept  aisles  on  the  West  with 
low  arches  and  galleries  we  might  solve  the  problem.  I  know  that 
this  would  be  contrary  to  all  precedent  in  Gothic  architecture, 
and  yet  as  architecture  is  decorated  usefulness,  and  the  space  is 
absolutely  needed  for  worshippers,  this  seems  to  me  to  be  the 
first  consideration.  With  three  galleries  each  ten  feet  high  in  the 
transept  facing  the  pulpit  and  chancel,  we  ought  to  be  able  to 
accommodate  a  great  many  people. 


45o  APPENDIX   I 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

December  30,  1907.  Your  letter  of  the  26th  gave  me  somewhat 
of  a  shock.  I  do  hope  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  have  galleries 
in  the  transepts.  I  thought  you  said  when  I  saw  you  last  that 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  chairs  in  nave  and  transepts  would 
be  enough,  or  I  certainly  would  have  put  the  pulpit  further  to  the 
East,  as  in  the  original  plan.  I  will  try  again  and  see  if  I  cannot 
get  in  the  two  thousand  chairs. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

January  3, 1908.  Happy  New  Year  to  you.  I  think  the  shocks 
were  about  equal.  If  I  gave  you  a  shock  by  my  suggestion,  I 
received  one  from  you  when  you  told  me  that  the  Cathedral 
would  not  hold  a  congregation  near  enough  to  the  pulpit  and  hear 
the  preacher  of  more  than  two  thousand.  I  am  inclined  to  think 
the  best  place  for  the  pulpit  would  be  near  the  centre  of  the  cross- 
ing as  is  possible  without  intercepting  the  view  of,  and  along,  the 
centre  aisle.  I  know  the  obje&ions,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  they 
are  more  than  compensated  by  the  advantages. 

The  ground  plan  of  the  crypt  has  arrived.  I  am  delighted 
with  it;  also  with  your  beautiful  sketch  of  the  south  transept  and 
tower,  which  is  very  uplifting  and  a  great  improvement  upon  the 
little  vignette  that  we  had  before.  In  printing  the  ground  plan 
I  should  like,  with  your  leave,  to  put  over  the  descriptive  words 
"The  Crypt"  instead  thereof  "  The  Bethlehem  Chapel  of  the  Nativ- 
ity" My  reason  for  doing  so  is  that  I  want  to  make  the  Chapel 
as  attractive  as  possible.  I  am  afraid  The  Crypt  would  sound  to 
the  popular  ear  like  a  cellar. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

January  6,  1908.  I  am  sending  you  under  separate  cover  a 
revised  plan  showing  the  seating  capacity  of  nave  and  transepts. 
This  time  I  have  followed  the  usual  custom  in  calculating  how 
many  chairs  can  be  got  into  a  certain  space.  The  ordinary  Eng- 
lish Cathedral  chair  is  only  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  on  extraordinary  occasions  they  should  not  be  placed 
close  together. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 
January  21,  1908.     I  have  been  studying  very  carefully  day 
after  day  the  plan  of  the  sittings  in  Washington  Cathedral  which 


APPENDIX  I  451 

you  so  kindly  sent  me,  and  have  consulted  with  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Chapter. 

Our  experience  as  clergymen  is  that  eighteen  inches  for  a  seat 
is  not  pra&icable.  When  the  seats  are  put  so  near  together,  it 
always  produces  fretfulness  and  irritation  on  the  part  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  evidently  this  is  the  case  in  many  European  Cathe- 
drals, because  I  see  that  there  is  a  distance  of  two  inches  between 
chairs  when  they  are  nailed  together  on  wooden  boards,  and  also 
if  you  will  look  at  the  photographs  of  chairs  in  different  European 
Cathedrals,  you  will  see  that  this  is  so  in  every  one,  as  well  on  the 
Continent  as  in  England. 

I  cannot  I  am  sure  raise  money  for  the  Cathedral  unless  we 
can  say  that  for  ordinary  Sunday  services  a  congregation  of  three 
thousand  will  be  near  enough  to  the  preacher  for  hearing  and 
seeing.  I  have  thought  how  this  might  be  done  without  altering 
the  exquisitely  beautiful  proportions  of  the  Cathedral  that  you 
and  Dr.  Bodley  have  designed,  and  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  only  way  in  which  this  can  be  accomplished  will  be  by 
building  transept  galleries  against  the  transept  walls.  If  we  in- 
crease the  width  of  the  nave  to  forty  feet,  and  then  erecl  these 
transept  galleries,  the  Cathedral  will  easily  accommodate  three 
thousand  persons  for  an  ordinary  service. 

I  inclose  the  paper  in  which  I  have  set  down  the  pros  and  cons 
of  these  transept  galleries  as  far  as  they  occurred  to  my  mind,  and 
what  I  have  set  forth  I  most  heartily  and  earnestly  commend  to 
you. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

January  27,  iqo8.  I  herewith  forward  to  you  a  copy  of  the 
Outlook  which  has  a  very  excellent  account  of  Washington  Cathe- 
dral.   It  begins  with  a  reference  to  yourself  and  your  work. 

By  this  time  you  have  received  my  letter  regarding  accommoda- 
tions for  worshippers  in  Washington  Cathedral.  I  have  considered 
this  matter  not  only  carefully,  but  prayerfully,  and  my  dear  Mr. 
Vaughan,  the  more  I  have  thought  of  it,  the  more  I  feel  convinced 
that  we  will  be  bringing  down  upon  us  the  criticism,  not  only  of  the 
present  but  of  future  times,  if  we  do  not  provide  for  three  thou- 
sand persons  within  sight  of  the  pulpit.  It  matters  not  so  much 
that  they  should  be  in  sight  of  the  choir,  because  a  very  much 
larger  number  can  see  and  hear.    In  facl:  I  myself  have  found  this 


452  APPENDIX  I 

sometimes  an  advantage  in  the  great  Cathedrals  in  England,  the 
choir,  for  the  architectural  proportions  of  the  Cathedral  itself 
are  so  exquisitely  beautiful  that  the  sight  of  this  beauty  more 
than  compensates  for  the  sight  of  the  choristers.  It  is  of  course 
very  different  with  the  preaching.  No  one  who  knows  anything 
about  architecture  or  the  difficulties  of  the  subject  can  possibly 
complain  if  we  provide  for  three  thousand  seats  in  sight  and  hear- 
ing of  the  preacher.  On  the  other  hand,  they  would  have  great 
reason  to  complain  if  we  did  not.  As  I  wrote  you,  in  England  I 
heard  complaints  on  all  sides  about  the  limited  accommodations 
in  Southwark  Cathedral  and  Westminster  Abbey. 

In  England  it  does  not  so  much  matter  about  Cathedrals  in 
small  towns  like  Durham.  .  .  . 

Yours  is  a  master  mind  I  am  sure,  which  can  rise  to  the  situa- 
tion and  meet  its  difficulties.  If  you  provide  the  accommoda- 
tion, you  will  not  only  forestall  and  checkmate  all  future  criticism. 
You  will  do  far  more  than  that.  You  will  have  solved  the  problem 
in  Gothic  architecture  which  thus  far  has  been  unsolved.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  we  do  not  face  the  situation  we  will  bring  down 
the  criticism  of  the  ages  upon  us.  I  am  so  satisfied  with  your 
beautiful  Cathedral  that  I  want  to  protect  it  against  such  criticism. 
Two  years  ago  I  thought  if  we  could  only  have  a  Cathedral  as 
beautiful  as  Lincoln  in  America,  my  ideal  would  be  fulfilled,  but 
I  regard  your  design  of  Washington  Cathedral  as  far  ahead  of 
that  of  Lincoln.  You  and  Mr.  Bodley  have  raised  my  ideal.  You 
see  how  the  whole  Chapter  and  Council  have  felt  towards  it  when 
they  accepted  it  unanimously.  I  know  they  will  be  disappointed 
by  and  by  when  they  come  to  realize  its  limited  sitting  capacity. 
Their  enthusiasm  for  your  work  will  then  become  qualified.  I 
do  not  want  this  to  happen.  You  see,  Mr.  Vaughan,  how  earnestly 
I  feel  about  this  matter,  and  this  is  my  excuse  for  writing  you 
again  at  such  length. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

January  28,  1908.  The  suggestions  you  make  for  increasing 
the  seating  capacity  of  the  Cathedral  required  most  careful  con- 
sideration and  before  writing  I  wanted  to  see  what  could  be  done 
in  the  way  of  transept  galleries  that  would  harmonize  with  the 
architecture  and  not  look  like  a  make-shift  or  after-thought. 


APPENDIX  I  453 

There  is  no  objection  whatever  to  galleries  in  a  Gothic  building 
but  they  must  be  made  to  look  like  part  of  the  fabric  and  be  in 
harmony  with  the  rest  of  the  work.  I  am  sending  a  very  slight 
sketch  as  a  suggestion.  It  is  not  what  you  have  asked  for  and  does 
not  give  all  the  needed  accommodations,  but  it  will  show  you  that 
I  am  trying  to  carry  out  your  suggestions. 
• 

If  we  must  have  galleries  they  should  be  of  stone.  There  might 
be  one  at  the  west  of  the  nave  and  one  in  each  of  the  transepts. 
Very  shallow  iron  galleries  might  possibly  come  over  the  stone 
galleries  and  be  approached  by  the  spiral  staircases.  Galleries 
such  as  you  suggest  would  never  be  allowed  to  remain,  and  then 
the  windows  and  doors  of  the  transepts  would  have  to  be  changed 
at  great  cost. 

I  note  what  you  say  about  the  width  of  the  nave  and  will  change 
the  width  to  40' '  o". 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

January  30,  igo8.  You  must  not  think  of  answering  these 
successive  letters  of  mine  until  you  are  ready  to  do  so  and  then 
one  answer  will  suffice  for  all.  It  is  a  way  that  I  always  have  if 
I  am  interested  in  or  studying  a  particular  subject,  I  send  my 
thoughts  on,  undigested  as  they  often  are,  at  once,  just  as  I  did 
with  Mr.  Bodley  regarding  the  west  front.  Again,  when  I  jot 
down  different  suggestions  to  you,  please  remember  that  they 
are  only  suggestions  that  occur  to  me,  sparks  from  the  anvil 
where  I  am  forging,  as  I  think  out  the  problem  from  my  own  side 
and  the  responsibility  resting  upon  me. 

I  have  just  received  your  kind  letter  of  January  28th  in  answer 
to  the  one  I  wrote  last  week.  Am  glad  to  hear  that  you  will  be 
able  to  change  the  width  of  the  nave  to  forty  feet.  I  am  sure 
this  ought  to  be  done,  even  if  it  does  necessitate  the  other  changes 
in  the  width  of  the  bays,  etc.,  of  which  you  have  spoken.  We  can 
then  regard  this  as  fixed  that  the  nave  will  be  forty  feet  between 
the  columns.  Would  this  involve  the  same  change  of  the  transepts 
to  forty  feet  or  not?  Concerning  the  changing  of  the  width  of 
the  aisles,  that  was  only  a  suggestion  to  you,  and  after  what  you 
have  said,  I  drop  it. 

Regarding   the   transept   galleries,   I   think    I    understand   and 
appreciate  all  that  you  have  said  and  understand  what  you  mean 


454 


APPENDIX  I 


better  than  you  suppose.  I  appreciate  the  shock  it  would  be  for 
a  person  entering  the  Cathedral  by  the  transepts  to  find  above  his 
head  either  a  board,  or  lath  and  plaster  ceiling,  sixteen  feet  wide 
before  he  entered  the  Cathedral  itself,  and  then  when  he  turned 
around  to  see  the  ugly  tiers  of  galleries  rising  up  one  above  another, 
like  the  boxes  of  an  opera  house.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that 
we  should  have  the  five  hundred  sittings  of  these  galleries  on  the 
one  hand,  and  yet  on  the  other,  unless  the  galleries  are  treated  by 
a  skilful  and  experienced  Gothic  architect  with  a  creative  mind, 
they  would  have  an  unfortunate  appearance,  but  I  believe  the 
thing  can  be  done.  I  have  sent  you  various  suggestions  regarding 
stone  work,  carved  wood  work,  wrought  iron  work,  and  last,  but 
not  least,  mosaic  work,  as  one  by  one  they  occurred  to  my  mind. 
I  have  such  confidence  in  you,  my  dear  Mr.  Vaughan,  that  you 
will  appreciate  my  motive  in  making  these  suggestions.  I  want 
to  feel  myself  perfectly  untrammelled  in  making  them  without 
being  thought  by  you  either  as  a  tyro  or  an  interferer,  provided 
that  you  on  your  part  will  feel  equally  untrammelled  in  accepting 
or  rejecting  them. 

You  suggest  west  end  galleries.  These  would  be  too  far  from 
the  preacher  (250  feet)  to  be  any  help  to  the  hearers,  besides  I 
am  positively  sure  we  will  need  this  place  for  a  west  end  organ, 
in  addition  to  the  two  choir  organs. 

H.  V.  to  H.  Y.  S. 

January  30,  igo8.  I  have  your  letter  of  the  28th  and  beg  to 
assure  you  that  I  am  most  anxious  to  meet  your  wishes  in  every 
possible  way.  I  am  still  at  work  on  the  transept  galleries  and 
hope  to  find  some  solution  to  the  difficult  problem  you  have  set 
me.  I  am  afraid  we  cannot  get  many  seats  in  the  west  gallery  as 
the  organ  will  take  up  a  good  deal  of  room.  I  have  all  along  ex- 
pected we  should  come  to  a  forty-foot  nave.  I  sincerely  hope  it 
will  not  be  an  inch  wider  than  that. 

I  read  with  pleasure  the  article  in  the  Outlook.  It  is  strange 
that  the  critics  have  had  so  little  to  say  about  the  Cathedral.  I 
expected  a  strong  opposition  to  a  Gothic  Cathedral. 

H.  Y.  S.  to  H.  V. 

January  31,  igo8.  Your  plan  has  just  arrived,  and  I  want  to 
thank  you  most  warmly  for  it.    You  have  met  me  halfway  in  my 


APPENDIX  I  455 

desire  to  stave  off  future  criticism  of  our  Cathedral  by  providing 
more  accommodation.  At  the  same  time,  you  have  far  surpassed 
my  own  imagination  regarding  the  beauty  of  the  gallery.  As 
you  have  drawn  it,  it  will  be  not  a  blemish,  but  a  real  addition 
and  attraction  to  the  Cathedral.  Your  stone  gallery,  with  the 
balustrade  of  carved  figures  six  feet  high  is  an  inspiration,  and 
the  gallery  of  iron  work  also  seems  to  me  very  attractive. 

I  am  sure,  after  seeing  your  drawing,  that  the  thing  can  be 
done,  with  the  result  of  enhancing  the  beauty  of  the  Cathedral 
itself. 


APPENDIX    II 

THE    IDEA    OF   AN   AMERICAN    CATHEDRAL1 

May,  igo6.  In  this  month,  at  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Board, 
and  after  eighteen  months  of  labor  on  the  part  of  the  Bishop,  the 
committee  of  Trustees,  Rev.  W.  L.  DeVries  and  Rev.  G.  C.  F. 
Bratenahl  assisting,  and  also  Mr.  Arthur  S.  Browne,  the  con- 
stitution was  thoroughly  revised.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  labor, 
all  the  statutes  of  the  English  cathedrals  were  procured  by  me, 
on  the  advice  of  the  present  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  care- 
fully examined  and  collated.  Over  2,000  typewritten  pages  were 
written  by  my  secretary,  Mr.  Warner.  All  the  statutes  of  Ameri- 
can Cathedrals  were  studied,  and  finally  this  constitution  was 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  who  henceforth 
became  the  Cathedral  Chapter.  The  trustees  who  gave  me  the 
most  assistance  in  this  difficult  work  were  Dr.  Harding,  General 
Wilson  and  Mr.  John  A.  Kasson.  The  constitution  is  elastic  and 
very  much  is  left  to  be  added  pro  re  nata. 

Perhaps  I  had  better  give  some  of  the  reasons  for  this  prolonged 
consideration.  The  Cathedral  (except  as  a  building)  is  new  in 
the  American  Church,  and  if  properly  organized  it  will  supply 
a  great  want,  that  is,  a  sphere  for  episcopal  work.  Hitherto  the 
American  Church,  while  technically  Episcopal,  is  in  effect  paro- 
chial, for  the  Bishop  is  little  more  than  (1)  a  parish  visitor;  (2)  an 
ordinary;  (3)  a  president  of  the  diocesan  convention.  Missionary 
bishops  fill  a  larger  sphere  than  diocesan  bishops  and  have  con- 
sequently more  freedom  as  chief  pastors  of  the  flock.  The  conse- 
quence is  that  the  pastoral  office  of  the  diocesan  bishop  is  shorn  of 
great  possibilities  in  diocesan  work.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
are  these  considerations:  (1)  the  present  supra-parochial  activities 
of  the  Church  are  sporadic  and  in  some  cases  individualistic.  They 
suffer  because  they  are  isolated  from  one  another;  (2)  the  supra- 
parochial  potentialities  of  the  Church  are  a  great  unutilized  oppor- 
tunity.    No  one  can  forecast  the  extended  sphere  of  usefulness 

1  From  tin-  Private  Record. 


458  APPENDIX  II 

that  would  be  created  if  this  mine  of  wealth  in  Church  effort 
were  explored.  New  York  parishes  are  now  trying  to  do  a  Cathe- 
dral work  at  the  expense  of  their  pastoral  work.  A  prominent 
Southern  bishop  said  to  me:  "New  York  parishes  are  no  longer 
spiritual  homes  for  the  people;  they  are  great  eleemosynary 
institutions."  Now,  the  Cathedral,  as  the  bishop's  church,  gives 
him  a  sphere  for  the  exercise  of  his  pastoral  office,  with  spiritual 
opportunities  that  he  cannot  have  in  any  parish,  where  he  would 
either  be  interfering  with  some  re&or,  or  else  be  awakening  the 
jealousy  of  other  parishes;  and  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  the  mother 
church  of  the  diocese,  where  all  parishes  are  welcomed  on  equal 
terms,  and  where  diocesan  efforts  both  converge  and  radiate,  and 
where  missionary  and  educational  efforts  originate.  This  is  an 
ideal  which  belongs  to  the  primitive,  not  to  the  mediaeval  Church. 
The  statutes  of  all  the  English  Cathedrals,  excepting  Truro  per- 
haps, fall  far  below  this  ideal.  European  cathedrals  are  all  fet- 
tered by  mediaeval  traditions  and  customs,  which  really  paralyze 
the  real  work  of  a  cathedral.  In  America  we  are  free,  and  it  has 
been  an  immensely  difficult  task  for  us  to  separate  (what  we  be- 
lieve to  be)  the  wheat  from  the  chaff  in  those  statutes.  We  finally 
concluded  to  make  our  constitution  as  short  as  possible,  leaving  it 
for  those  who  come  after  to  develop  it  pro  re  nata  along  the  lines 
we  have  laid  down.  This  will  account  for  the  lacunae  that  many 
parliamentarians  and  canonists  will  criticize.  In  so  important  a 
work,  we  thought  it  best  not  to  legislate  beforehand  for  contin- 
gencies which  no  one  can  foresee.  All  experience  shows  that  the 
only  safe  rule  in  such  legislation  is  the  practical  one  of  solvitur 
ambulando. 

The  question  of  the  relation  of  the  Cathedral  to  the  Diocesan 
Convention  has  been  a  most  perplexing  one.  The  Diocesan  Con- 
vention I  have  always  felt  to  be  "the  Church  in  the  Diocese," 
but  the  more  we  tried  to  acl:  upon  this  principle,  the  more  we  found 
that  there  are  certain  aspects  in  which  the  Diocesan  Convention 
does  not  fully  represent  the  Church  in  the  Diocese,  just  as  in  the 
American  Constitution  the  Executive  is  different  from  the  Legis- 
lative branch  of  the  Government,  while  the  President  is  amenable 
to  Congress,  so  the  Bishop,  as  a  diocesan  executive,  is  different 
from  the  Diocesan  Convention  even  while  he  is  responsible  to  it. 
In  the  American  Church,  the  Bishop  has  heretofore  been  deprived 
too  much  of  the  power  of  initiative  and  the  sphere  for  the  exercise 
of  the  pastoral  office,  simply  because  he  has  never  felt  free  to  acT: 


APPENDIX   II  459 

apart  from  the  Diocesan  Convention.  Now  it  was  my  first  idea  to 
bring  the  Cathedral  in  closest  relations  with  the  Convention,  to 
give  it  the  election  —  or  at  least  the  nomination  —  of  the  officers 
and  trustees  of  the  Cathedral,  in  a  word,  to  put  the  Cathedral 
under  the  Convention,  and  thus  defeat  the  very  object  that  I  had 
most  at  heart.  But  the  trustees  almost  to  a  man  opposed  this. 
They  pointed  to  the  charter.  They  said  that  they  could  not  dis- 
charge their  duty  under  the  charter  if  they  were  to  commit  the 
responsibility  of  filling  vacancies  or  of  enacting  laws  and  statutes 
for  the  Cathedral  to  any  other  body,  even  the  Convention  of  the 
Diocese.  They  consented  to  give  the  power  of  nomination  to  the 
Bishop,  because  he  is,  ex  officio,  president  of  the  Board;  but 
beyond  this  they  refused  to  go.  Then  my  eyes  were  opened  to  see 
what  I  had  not  seen  before.  To  do  this  with  the  Cathedral,  the 
Bishop's  Church,  would  be  to  give  the  Convention  a  power  over 
the  Cathedral  that  it  did  not  have  over  any  parish  in  the  Diocese. 
It  would  make  the  Bishop  less  free  than  any  rector.  Instead  of 
enlarging  the  Bishop's  sphere  of  usefulness  as  chief  pastor,  it  would 
curtail  it.  All  this  has  been  brought  about  providentially.  God 
has  been  leading  us  all  by  a  path  that  we  knew  not.  Again,  I  see 
another  result.  The  Washington  Cathedral  is  not  only  the  Cathe- 
dral of  the  Diocese.  While  diocesan,  it  is  also  the  representative 
Cathedral  of  the  whole  American  Church,  and  in  that  sense  supra- 
diocesan.  Some  day  this  may  become  something  more  than  a 
mere  sentiment.  I  think  this  thought  was  always  in  Senator 
Edmunds'  mind.  It  will  be  observed  that  we  have  touched  upon 
this  aspect  of  the  Cathedral  in  the  1 50th  paragraph  of  the  Preamble. 
I  have  always  felt  that  the  Cathedral  should  stand  for  the 
Anglican  basis  of  Church  unity,  and  the  four  offices  of  precentor, 
missioner,  chancellor,  and  almoner  stand  in  connection  with  the 
four  articles  of  the  Lambeth  Quadrilateral.  At  first  I  thought  we 
might  even  go  so  far  as  to  have  one  or  two  chancellors,  represen- 
tatives of  Protestant  evangelical  bodies  in  the  Chapter,  even  as 
we  have  had  two  Presbyterians  on  the  Cathedral  Board;  but  after 
two  years  of  thought  and  consultations  with  bishops,  prominent 
rectors  and  church  lawyers,  I  came  with  them  to  the  absolute 
conclusion  that  this  would  be  a  mistake.  We  have,  however,  left 
places  for  the  clergy  of  other  dioceses  on  the  Council  as  "honor- 
ary canons,"  and  also  places  for  ministers  of  evangelical  Protes- 
tant bodies  in  tin  Council  as  "Cathedral  lecturers,"  and  I  hope 
the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  we  shall  have  representatives  of 


460  APPENDIX  II 

both  on  the  Cathedral  Council.     But  that  is  a  question  to  be 
left  to  the  future,  pro  re  nata. 

Another  great  crux  was  how  to  provide  for  the  appointment 
of  dean  and  canons,  when  by  our  charter  we  were  obliged  to  have 
fifteen  trustees.  The  only  way  to  do  this  was  to  elecl:  the  members 
of  the  Chapter  for  two  years  only.  Then  if  one  of  these  officers 
is  wanted,  he  can  be  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy.  Of  course  this  means 
that  a  dean,  etc.,  is  only  appointed  for  two  years  and  undoubtedly 
this  article  of  the  constitution  will  have  to  be  modified  when  the 
time  comes.  All  this  will  take  care  of  itself.  At  present  we  see 
no  other  way  of  meeting  all  the  conditions  of  the  situation.  (The 
same  difficulty  occurs  with  regard  to  the  bishop  coadjutor.) 

—  From  Bishop  Satterlee's  Private  Record. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Acton,  Lord,  quoted,  355 

Addams,  Jane,  129 

Advent  Mission,  the,  in  New  York,  96; 
H.  Y.  S.  an  ardent  advocate  of,  97; 
tangible  results  of,  100;  Bishop  Pot- 
ter's estimate  of,  100 

Agnus  Dei  Cross,  the,  383;  consecrated 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  384 

Aitken,  Rev.  W.  Hay,  99 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  2,  5,  6 

Albany,  the  Bishop  of,  285;  tribute  to 
H.  Y.  S.  from,  407 

Aldrich,  Mrs.  H.  B.,  145,  277 

Aldrich,  Spencer,  83,  154,  158 

All-American  Conference,  the,  268;  its 
topical  programme,  268-269;  reso- 
lutions passed  by,  270;  the  open-air 
service  on  Mount  St.  Alban,  271; 
the  Missionary  meeting,  272,  380 

All  Angels'  Church,  Twilight  Park,  224 

All  Hallows'  Gate,  376,  430 

All  Saints'  Church,  Worcester,  Mass., 
109 

Altar  Cross,  the,  of  the  Cathedral,  con- 
secrated, 283-286 

Alvey,  Chief  Justice,  218 

Ambon  (lectern),  the,  of  the  Cathedral, 
292,  293,  301,  384;  presentation  and 
dedication  of,  400 

America,  "the  end  of  a  divided  Chris- 
tendom," 261 

"American  Architect,"  the,  447 

American  Tract  Society,  the,  345 

Andrews,  Dr.  George  B.,  19;  estimate 
of,  21-22;   death  of,  43;  33,  50 

Andronikoff,  Prince  Michael,  199,  214 

Anglican  Communion,  the,  162,  189, 
211,  212,  262,  268 

Anthon,  Dr.  Charles,  10 

Armenians,  the,  H.  Y.  S.  presents  pe- 
tition for,  to  Emperor  of  Russia,  190; 


story  of,    191-194;    later  efforts   by 
H.  Y.  S.  on  behalf  of,  206;  222 
Ascension,    the   Church  of  the,  Wash- 
ington,   D.    C,     becomes  the    pro- 
Cathedral,  259,  413 
Atonement,  the  Society  of  the,  112 
Austin,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stanley,  373 
Avenue  A  Mission,  New  York,  129 
Aves,  Bishop,  324 

Babcock,  Samuel  D.,  154 
Baldwin,  Bishop,  380 
Ballinger,  Mrs.  Victor,  378 
Bangs,  Miss,  248 
Baptism,  350 

Baptist  Ministers'  Conference,  the,  406 
Baptistery,  of  the  Cathedral,  the,  sug- 
gestion for  denominational  use,  264; 

379 
Barton,  Oliver  G.,  154 

Bebontoff,  Prince,  206 

Bedell,  Bishop,  106 

Beekman,  Gerard,  14,  420 

Bellevue  Hospital,  New  York,  121 

Bemis,  Judge,  2 

Bemis,  Rebecca,  2 

Benson,  Father,  342 

Benson,  Dr.  See  Canterbury,  Arch- 
bishop of 

Benson,  Mrs.,  216,  217 

Bergh,  Arthur,  5 

Bergh,  John  C,  2 

Bethlehem  Chapel,  410 

Bible,  the  attitude  of  H.  Y.  S.  toward, 
^42-344;  its  relation  to  the  untu- 
tored, 344 

Bible  Society,  the,  346 

Bickertteth,  Bishop,  217 
Bigelow,  Rev,  Dr.,  380 
Biographer,  the,  dote  kinsman  to  the 
painter,  xii 


464 


INDEX 


Bishops,  the  House  of,  108,  140,  226, 
231,  251,  268,  286,  325 

Bismarck,  193 

Board  of  Missions.  See  Missions, 
Board  of 

Bodley,  George  F.,  333,  335;  letter  from 
H.  Y.  S.  to,  360;  387,  388,  389,  390, 
391*  392;  death  of,  402;  extracts 
from  correspondence  between  H.  Y.  S. 
and,  423-441 

Bodine,  Dr.,  106 

Boise,  the  Bishop  of,  285 

Book  of  Common  Prayer,  the,  342-344, 

352>  353>  354 
Booth,  Charles,  133 

Boston,  286 

Bowdoin,  Helen,  315 

Boxer  uprising,  in  China,  the,  243 

Boys'  Academy,  the,  Albany,  9 

Boys'  Club,  the,  138 

Bradt,  Jane,  3 

Brandi,  Rev.  Salvadore,  210 

Bratenahl,  Rev.  Dr.,  G.  C.  F.,  xii,  230, 
381,  384,  457 

Bray,  Rev.  Thomas,  243 

Brazil,  270 

Breckinridge,  Hon.  Clifton  R.,  196;  let- 
ter to  Mrs.  Satterlee  re  mission  of 
H.  Y.  S.  to  St.  Petersburg,  201-204 

Brent,  Bishop,  384 

Brewer,  Bishop,  380 

Brewer,  Justice,  400 

Brewster,  Bishop  B.,  82,  319 

Bristol,  the  Bishop  of,  374 

British  Museum,  the,  25 

Britton,  Col.  A.  T.,  239 

Brooks,  Rev.  Dr.  Arthur,  94,  101,  131 

Brooks,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Phillips,  quot- 
ed, xii;  on  the  Advent  Mission,  101; 
elected  Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  131; 
his  letter  to  his  brother,  re  H.  Y.  S., 
131;   anecdote  of,  319 

Browning,  Robert,  26 

Browne,  Arthur  S.,  457 

Bruce,  Matilda  W.,  136,  248,  378 

Bruton  Church,  Williamsburg,  Va.,  402 

Buchanan,  P.  R.,  134;  assists  H.  Y.  S. 
in  founding  Working  Men's  Club,  138 

Buckingham,  Mrs.,  378 


"Building   of  a   Cathedral,"    the,    by 
H.  Y.  S.,  quoted,  232;  published,  255 
Bull,  Dr.  Charles  Steadman,  293 
Burnham,  Edwin,  A.,  386 
Butler,  William  Allen,  318,  385 
Butler,  Mrs.  William  Allen,  297 

"Calling  of  the  Christian,"  the,  by 

H.  Y.  S.,  quoted,  358 
"Calvary  Bishop,"  the,  H.  Y.  S.  called, 

Calvary  Chapel,  New  York,  9,  103 
Calvary   Church,   New   York,    17,    19; 
H.  Y.  S.  called  to,  68;  history  of,  74- 
79;    City  Mission  of,  78;    H.  Y.  S. 
takes  charge  of,  79;   fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of,  92,  102;    missioners  at,  99; 
needs  of,  102,  103;    debt  wiped  out, 
119;    H.  Y.  S.  broadens  interests  of, 
120-121;  H.  Y.  S.  urges  it  to  become 
a    "free"     church,     132;      Mackay- 
Smith  praises  work  of,  138;  review  of 
decade  of  service  of  H.  Y.  S.  at,  143— 
145;     invites   Churchill   Satterlee   to 
become  assistant,  151;    the  last  two 
years  of  H.  Y.  S.  at,  154;  letter  from 
H.  Y.  S.  surveying  work  at,  154-156; 
the  Endowment  Fund,  154-155;  the 
library,  156;    H.  Y.  S.  announces  his 
coming    separation    from,     159-164; 
passionate  regret  over  departure  of 
H.  Y.  S.,  165-166;    H.  Y.  S.  conse- 
crated   Bishop   at,    174;     as    Bishop, 
H.  Y.  S.  administers  confirmation  at 
178;   letter  from  H.  Y.  S.,  re  depart- 
ure, to,  179 

"Calvary  Evangel,"  the,  quoted,  178- 
180 

"Cambridge  Modern  History,"  the, 
quoted,  191,  193 

Cameron,  Mr.,  137 

Canal  Zone,  the.  See  Panama  Canal 
Zone 

Canon   Law,  217-220 

Canterbury,  the  Archbishop  of  (Dr. 
Benson),  196 

Canterbury,  the  Archbishop  of  (Dr. 
Davidson),  his  estimate  of  H.  Y.  S., 
213-214;    263;    his  visit  to  America, 


INDEX 


465 


282-286;   300;   consecrates  the  Altar 

Cross,  384 
Canterbury,    the    Archbishop    of    (Dr. 

Temple),  153,  210,  211,  212;  H.  Y.  S. 

gives  estimate  of,  216 
Cape  Palmas,  the  Bishop  of,  285 
Capers,  Bishop  E.,  278 
Carmichael,  Rev.  Dr.,  79,  270 
Caroe,  W.  D.,  301,  384 
Cathedra,  the  Glastonbury,  dedicated, 

249;   284,  373,  374.  384 
Cathedral,  the.     See  National  Cathedral 

of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul 
Cathedral   School  for  Boys,   the.     See 

National  Cathedral  School  for  Boys 
Cathedral   School   for  Girls,   the.     See 

National  Cathedral  School  for  Girls 
Catholic  Unity  League,  the,  156 
Catlin,  Jennie,  276 
Catlin,  Capt.  Robert,  5;  276,  277 
Catlin,    Mrs.    Robert,    5,    10;     letters 

from  H.  Y.  S.  to,  56,  62;  276,  277 
Catlin,  Walter,  276 
Cavour,  quoted,  185 
Central  Relief  Committee,  the,  210 
Chadwick,  Mrs.,  290,  299 
Chandler,  Mr.,  161 
Chambre,  Rev.  A.  St.  John,  109 
Chaplains,  in  Army  and  Navy,  anoma- 
lous position  of,  188 
Chaucer,  quoted,  67 
Chew,  Dr.,  230,  364 
"Chicago-Lambeth  Quadrilateral,"  the, 

263 
"Christ  and   His  Church,"   first   book 

written  by  H.  Y.  S.,  50 
Church,  the,  attitude  of  H.  Y.  S.  toward, 

141 
Church  Congress,  the,  208 
Christ  the  Consoler,  the  Chapel  of,  New 

York,  121 
"Church  Army,"  the,  136 
Church  Club,  the,  of  New  York,  140 
Churchill,  Jane  Lawrence,  17.     See  Sat- 

terlee,  Mrs.  II.  T. 
Churchill,  Mrs.,  death  of,  255 
"Churchman,"  the,  New  York,  quoted, 

99,  100,  165,  271;    249 
Churchmanship,  236 


Churchmen's  Club,  the,  98 
Churchmen's  League,  the,  381 
Church  Missions  House,  the,  130 
Church  of  England,  the,  188,  261 
Church,  Rev.  Mr.,  230 
Church  Temperance  Society,  the,  32- 

33,  257-259 
Claggett,  Bishop  T.  J.,  168;  his  remains 

translated  to  Mount  St.  Alban,  230- 

232,  372 
Claggett,  Mrs.  T.  J.,  230,  231,  372 
Clark,  Herbert  Edgar,  375,  376,  378,  393 
Clarke,  Bishop  T.  M.,  131,  320 
Clarke,  Sir  C.  Purdon,  2,  386 
Clay,  Colonel,  274 

Clergy,  country,   the,  inadequate  sala- 
ries of,  322 
Clergy  School,  Bishop  Paret's,  323 
Coffee  House,  the,  138 
Coleman,  Bishop  Leigh  ton,  156,  226 
Columbia  College,  10,  106,  III,  211 
Columbia  Grammar  School,  the,  New 

York,  10 
Comonfort,  President,  of  Mexico,  139 
Concordat,  the,  in  France,  188 
Conover,  Rev.  T.  A.,  127 
Cooke,  Rev.  S.  M.,  90 
Coxe,  Rev.  Dr.  Arthur  Cleveland,  16, 

17,  28,  29,  69,  78,  141,  174,  362,  370 
"  Creedless    Gospel     and     the    Gospel 

Creed,"  the,  written  by  H.  Y.  S.,  151, 

152;    quoted,   152-153 
Creighton,  Dr.,  211 
Croom,  230 

Cuba,  241,  251,  252,  270,  329 
Cuming,  Rev.  Francis  H.,  76 
Curzon,  Lord,  425,  433,  436 
Cuthbert,  Dr.  Middleton  F.,  282 

Dana,  William  B.,  85 

Dare,  Virginia,  229 

Davidson,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Randall  T.    See 

Canterbury,  the  Archbishop  of 
Davids. 11.   Mrs.   Randall  T.,  282,   285, 

295>  297»  300.  307 
1  Kaconess,  the  office  of,  96;    H.  Y.  S. 
takes  interest  in,  107;    legislation  of, 
107   114;    championed  by  Dr.  Hunt- 
ington, 109 


\66 


INDEX 


Dean,  Mrs.,  383 

Dean,  Samuel  B.,  383 

De  Vries,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  L.,  xii;  associa- 
tion of  H.  Y.  S.  with,  208,  209;  letters 
from  H.  Y.  S.  to,  214,  259,  291,  302, 

333;  299,  323,  365,  3§4,  393,  457 
Dewey,  Admiral  George,  anecdotes  of, 

223,  369 
Diamond,  John,  2 
Dillingham,  Senator,  309 
"Diocesan  Journals,"  the,  quoted,  173, 

183,  191,  197,  198,  199,  200,  206,  228, 

229,  233,  239,  240,  242,  243,  245,  246, 

252,  253,  262,  263,  266,  283,  284,  287, 

290,  321,  322,  357,  383 
Dix,  Dr.  Morgan,  94,  173 
Doane,  Bishop,  109,  130,  137,  253,  254, 

272,  327,  344,  362,  370,  371,  382,  415 
Donald,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  Winchester,  94 
Douglas,  Rev.  George  W.,  364,  365 
Dudley,  Bishop,  174,  230,  253,  254,  268; 

estimate  by  H.  Y.  S.  of,  269;  277,  371 
Dudley,  Mrs.,  277 
Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the,  28 
Dyer,  Dr.  Heman,  106,  123,  362 

Easton,  the  Diocese  of,  169 

Easton,  the  Bishop  of,  285 

East  Side  Mission,  New  York,  103 

Edmunds,  Senator  George  F.,  234,  365 

Edsall,  Bishop  S.  C,  274 

Elliott,  Rev.  J.  H.,  156 

Elliott,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  R.  W.  B.,  99 

Emery,  Rev.  W.  S.,  82,  161 

Endowment  Fund,  the,  at  Calvary 
Church,  I54-IS5>  I59>  162 

Enfant,  Major  L',  362 

Epiphany,  the  Church  of  the,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  171,  182,  364 

Episcopal  Church,  the,  28 

"Ethics  of  American  Civilization," 
written  by  H.  Y.  S.,  243-245 

Eucharist,  the,  350,  353,  358 

Evarts,  Rev.  Prescott,  quoted,  35,  37, 
48,  126 

Evarts,  Senator,  82 

"Evening  Star,"  the  Washington, 
quoted,  246 

"Eyrie,"  the,  242 


Farnham  Castle,  216 

Fasting,  237,  347 

Faulkner,  J.,  34 

Ferguson,  Dr.,  196 

Field,  David  W.,  82 

"First  Principles  First,"  by  H.  Y.  S., 
quoted,  343 

"Fisher  of  Men,"  a,  quoted,  42,  106, 
122,  145,  151;   278-281,  307 

Folsom,  Helen  Stuyvesant,  278 

Fond  du  Lac,  the  Bishop  of,  285 

Font,  the,  at  the  Cathedral,  351,  379 

Forrester,  Rev.  Henry,  142,  143;  cor- 
respondence with  H.  Y.  S.,  re  Mexi- 
can Church,  324-327 

Forty-second  Street  Mission,  the,  New 
York,  129 

Foster,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Salome,  86-89, 
266 

Foundation  Stone,  the,  of  the  Cathe- 
dral, 368,  393,  395,  396 

"Foundation  Stone  Book,"  the  quoted, 
46-47>  393,  402 

"Founders'  Certificates,"  233-234 

Francis,  Fr.  Paul  James,  112-115 

Franz,  Dr.,  309 

Freeman,  Isabel,  378 

Free  Reading  Room  Association,  the, 
138 

Frisbie,  Ellen  P.,  9 

Funeral  Choir,  the,  50 

Gailor,  Bishop,  319 

Galilee  Mission,  the,  89;  letters  of 
H.  Y.  S.  concerning,  103-105;  125, 
129,  135,  138,  145 

Gallatin,  Mr.,  104 

Geiat,  Antoine  Thomas,  393 

General  Convention,  the,  acts  on  "a 
preaching  mission,"  102;  reports  on 
the  office  of  Deaconess,  107;  225,  226, 
228,  249,  251,  252,  253,  337,  370,  383, 

394,  402 
General  Theological  Seminary,  the,  New 

York,  18,  23,  123,  124,  125,  141,  239 
Georgia,  the  Bishop  of,  285 
Gibson,  R.  W.,  366,  370 
Gilman,  President,  370 
Girls'  Friendly  Society,  the,  298 


INDEX 


467 


Gladstone,  William  E.,  205,  208 
Glastonbury    Cathedra,  the.     See    Ca- 
thedra, Glastonbury 
Gloucester  Cathedral,  334 
Glover,  Mr.,  230,  231 
"God's  Co-operative  Society,"  quoted, 

346 
Goodwin,  James  G.,  154 
Gordon,  General,  quoted,  40 
Gordon,  Rev.  W.  B.,  138,  142,  274 
Gore,  Canon,  121,  134,  136,  163,  215, 

^237 
Grace  Church,  Morganton,  N.  C,  149; 

condition    of    the    parish,    149-150; 

Churchill    Satterlee   accepts   call    to, 

Grace  Church,  Providence,  R.  I.,  107 

Graham,  Miss  H.  K.,  33 

Grant,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Percy  S.,  240 

Grants,  the,  297 

Graves,  Bishop  F.  R.,  240 

Gray,    Rev.  Arthur  R.,    196;    quoted, 

197 
Green,  Bernard,  386 
Greene,  Gen.  Francis  V.,  240 
Greer,  Dr.  D.  H.,  79,  107 
Grinnell,  Irving,  xii,  21,  23,  31,  32,  33, 

34,  43,  67;   letters  from  H.  Y.  S.  to, 

224,  266,  267,  299,  300,  315 
Grinnell,  Mrs.  Irving,  34,  35,  41,  225, 

267;  death  of,  299,  301,  307;  316 
Grotius,  chair  of,  285 
Grover,  Mr.,  161 
"Guardian,"  the  London,  quoted,  270, 

309 

Hadden,  Alexander  M.,  83;   quoted, 

83 

Hall,  the  Rt.  Rev.  A.  C.  A.,  109 

Hall,  Dr.  Charles  H.,  364 

Hammond,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Hays, 
296,  298 

"Hand  Book  of  Washington  Cathe- 
dral," quoted,  349,  352,  369 

1 1  a  re,  Bishop,  308 

Hare,  Mr.,  389 

Harding,  Rev.  Dr.  Alfred,  217, 381,  411, 

457 
"Harper's  Weekly/1  quoted,  97 


Harris,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Smith,  106, 

117 
Hawaii,  253,  270 

Hawks,    Rev.   Francis    L.,    9,   77,   78, 

156 

Hay,  John,  241,  289,  290,  291,  298,  301, 

307 
Hayes,  Rev.  Charles  H.,  208,  209,  364 

Heald,  John,  42 

Hearst,  Mrs.  Phoebe  A.,  226,  239;    en- 
dows Cathedral  School  for  Girls,  365, 

366 
Henkell,  Mr.,  161 

"  Herald,"  the  New  York,  quoted,  272 
Herbert,  George,  xvi 
Hereford,  the  Bishop  of,  195,  287 
Hewitt,  Abram  S.,  154 
Hill,  Mr.,  274 
"Hints  on  Pastoral  Work,"  by  H.  Y.  S., 

127-129 
Hitchcock,  Rev.  Solomon  G.,  43 
Hoffman,  Dean,  123 
Holden,  Rev.  Mr.,  285 
Holland,  Canon  Scott,  204;  quoted,  204 
Holy  Communion,  the,  352 
Honduras,  the  Bishop  of,  282,  332 
Horton,  Mr.,  105 
Houghteling,  James  L.,  395 
Houghton,  Rev.  Dr.,  94 
How,  Bishop  Walsham,  217 
Howard  University,  338 
Howarth,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.,  31 
Howden,  the  Rt.  Rev.  F.  B.,  82,  161 
Howell,  Mr.,  366 
Howland,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  267 
Hughson,  Mr.,  161 
Hull  House,  Chicago,  129 
Humbert,  Margaret,  marries  Churchill 

Satterlee,  149;   death  of,  149,  151 
Huntington,  Daniel,  154 
Huntington,  the  Rt.  Rev.   F.  D.,  174; 

quoted,  174-178 
Huntington,  Rev.  W.  R.,  79,  94,  106; 

champions   cause  of  the   Deaconess, 

109;  370,  J95 
Hutchinson,  Mr.,  274 

Impi  u  \i  till,  ideal  <>f  II.  Y.  S.  on,  244 
"Indea  Renim,"  the,  of  H.  Y.  S.,  1 


468 


INDEX 


Indians,  the,  efforts  of  H.  Y.  S.  to  se- 
cure justice  for,  187 

Ingram,  Dr.  A.  F.  W.,  395;  his  address 
at  Foundation  Stone  service,  398; 
presents  the  Ambon,  400 

"In  Memoriam,"  Rhinelander's,  quoted 

351 
"Intrusion,"  the  question  of,  270 

Jacob,  Dr.,  395 
James,  Mr.,  105 
James,  Mrs.  Julian,  306;   gift  of,  317, 

385 
Jamestown    (Va.),    the    pilgrimage    to, 

228,  228 
Jerusalem  Altar,  the,  284,  375,  378,  384 
John,  Father,  of  Kronstadt,  199 
Johnson,  Rev.  Edward,  230 
Johnson,  Bishop  J.  H.,  230,  328 
Johnson,  S.  W.,  34 

Johnston,  Mrs.  Harriet  Lane,  287,  380 
Jordan  Font,  the,  375 
"Journal  of  the  General  Convention," 

the,  quoted,  188,  189,  251,  263 

Kasson,  John  A.,  457 

Keble  College,  121 

Kentucky,  the  Bishop  of,  268 

Key,  Francis  Scott,  232 

Kibbey,  Bessie  J.,  367,  368,  378,  380 

Kimber,  Rev.  Joshua,  quoted,  130,  13 1 

King,  George  Gordon,  83 

King  Hall,  338,411 

Kinnicutt,  Dr.,  310 

Kinsolving,  the  Rt.  Rev.  L.  L.,  228 

Kip,  Rev.  Dr.  William  Ingraham,  4,  27 

Kipling,  Rudyard,  211 

Knightley,  Lady,  298 

Knights  of  Temperance,  the,  124 

Labanoff,  Prince,  198,  199,  202,  203 
"Labour  Homes,"  136 
Lambeth  Conference,  the,  211;    letters 
of  H.  Y.  S.  concerning,  214-215;   263 
Land  Mark,  the  Cathedral,  385 
Lane  Johnston  Choir  School,  the,  287 
Langford,  Dr.  W.  S.,  156,  362 
Lansing,  Mary,  2 
Lawrence,  Bishop  William,  230,  319 


Laymen's  League  of  Washington,  the, 

228 
Le  Boutillier,  John,  154 
Lecky,  Mr.,  243 
Lee,  Bishop  Alfred,  139 
Legge,  Dr.,  238 
Leo  XIII,  Pope,  issues  the  Apostolicae 

Curae,  210;  comments  of  H.  Y.  S.  on, 

210-211 
Leonard,  Bishop  W.  A.,  174 
Letters.     See    under    Satterlee,    Henry 

Yates 
Leupp,  Commissioner  F.  E.,  187 
Lichfield,  the  Bishop  of,  238 
Lichfield  Cathedral,  334 
Liddon,  Canon,  163 
Little  Sanctuary,  the,  284,  376,  378 
Liverpool,  the  Bishop  of,  334 
Liverpool  Cathedral,  334,  389 
"Living  Church,"  the,  quoted,  218,  219 
Lloyd,  Mr.,  328 
Lodging  House  Scheme,  105 
Loeb,  William,  381 
London,  the  Bishop  of,  211.     See  also 

Ingram,  Dr.  Winnington 
Loxley,  Rev.  Mr.,  378 

McBee,  Silas,  249-251 

McGowans,  the,  296,  299,  303,  308,  309 

Mackay-Smith,  Bishop  Alexander,  138, 

156,  173,  233,  248,  304,  307,  370,  415 
McKim,  Charles  F.,  386 
McKim,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Randolph  H.,  171, 

173, 174;  his  estimate  of  H.  Y.  S.,  182, 

217;  quoted,  229;  230,  233;  286,  321, 

412 
McKinley,  President,  206;    relations  of 

H.  Y.  S.  with,  221-223,  233;    241; 

tribute  of  H.  Y.  S.  to,  247;    367;    at 

unveiling  of  the  Peace  Cross,  371-372 
McLaren,  Bishop,  325,  326,  371 
Mackrille,  Miss,  275 
Mahan,  Prof.  Milo,  16 
Mahans,  the,  290 
Manila,  the  Archbishop  of,  241 
Mansfield  House,  215 
Markoe,  Mrs.  John,  xii 
Marriages,  mixed,  263 
Martin,  Miss,  297 


INDEX 


469 


Maryland,  the  Diocese  of,  168 

Maryland,  the  Bishop  of,  285 

Mason,  Mr.,  290 

Meath,  the  Earl  of,  133 

Meloy,  William  H.,  364 

Merrill,  Grenville,  216 

Mesier,  A.  S.,  34 

Mesier,  Mrs.  A.  S.,  41 

Mesier,  Henry,  21,  34;  death  of,  67 

Mesier,  Judge  Matthew,  36,  66 

Messiah,  the  Church  of  the,  New  York 

City,  19 
Metropolitan,  the,  of  Silesia,  199 
Mexican  Episcopal  Church,  the,  history 

of,  139-143;   25J>  270,  282,  286,  324; 

correspondence  concerning,  324-331; 

429 
Michigan,  the  Bishopric  of,  117 
Minnesota,  the  Bishop'of,  274 
Mission  Priests,  the,  96 
Missions,  Board  of,  138,  139,  403,  411 
Missions,  Foreign,  139 
Missions,    Parochial,    96-102;     Bishop 

Brooks'  misgivings  regarding,  101 
Mrs.  Hooker  Memorial  School,  the,  143 
Mitchell,  Rev.  Walter  A.,  174 
Moberly,  Dr.,  351 
Montgomery,  Dr.,  395 
Moore,  Prof.  Charles  F.,  386 
Morgan,  J.  Pierpont,  3,  283 
Mottet,  Rev.  Dr.  H.,  94 
Mount  Edgcumbe,  Lord,  299 
Murphy,  Edgar  Gardner,  338 
Mynderse,  Catherine,  3 

National  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  the,  Washington, 
D.  C,  site  secured  for,  225;  altar 
cross  consecrated,  283;  chair  of  Gro- 
tius  at,  285;  the  Ambon,  292,  301, 
400;  mortgage  cancelled,  317,  385; 
endowed  with  the  personality  of 
H.  Y.  S.,  361;  sites  considered,  366- 
369;  the  Glastonbury  Cathedra, 
373-375;  the  Jordan  Font  and  the 
Jerusalem  Altar,  375;  advisory 
committee  appointed  for  building, 
386;  architects  selected  for,  388; 
laying  the  foundation  stone  of,  393- 


400;  correspondence  between  H.  Y.  S. 

and  the  architects  concerning,  423- 

455;   the  idea  of  H.  Y.  S.  of,  457-460 
National   Cathedral    School    for    Boys, 

the,  187,  380,  384 
National   Cathedral    School   for   Girls, 

the,  233;    cornerstone  laid,  239,  372; 

opening  of,  243;   early  plans  for,  365 
Nauheim,  289;  H.  Y.  S.  at,  333 
Negroes,  the,  interest  felt  by  H.  Y.  S. 

in,  210,  336-341 
Nelms,  Rev.  J.  Henning,  413 
Nelson,  Rev.  George  F.,  370,  420 
Nelson,  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  W.,  226 
Nevin,  Dr.  R.  J.,  309,  328 
Newbold,  Colonel  and  Mrs.,  308,  309 
Newbolt,  Canon  W.  C.  E.,  309 
New  Hamburgh,  N.  Y.,  21,  23,  34,  50, 

104 
"New  Testament  Churchmanship,"  by 

H.  Y.  S.,  236;    reviews  and  letters 

concerning,  237-239 
Nichols,  Bishop,  230 
Noble,  Mrs.  William  Belden,  367 
Nourse,  Joseph,  225,  369 
Nourse,  Phoebe,  226 
Nunc  Dimittis  Window,  the,  410 
Nuttall,  Archbishop  E.,  271,  380,  395 

Oberammergau,  51,  52-56,  122,  243 

Ohio,  the  Bishopric  of,  106 

Oliver,  General,  283 

Onderdonk,  Bishop,  74 

"Outlook,"  the,  454 

Oxford  Christian  Social  Union,  the,  134 

Oxford  House,  121,  129,  134-136,  215, 

300 
Oxford  Movement,  the,  28-29 

Pacific,  the,  an  ocean  of  union,  252 
Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  372,  402 
Painter,  the,  close  kinsman  to  the  biog- 
rapher, xii 
Panama  Canal  Zone,  the,  282,  328,  329, 
331;  correspondence  concerning,  332; 
340 
Paret,    Bishop   William,    169;     quoted, 
169,172;   174,291,321,323,362,366, 
372 


47Q 


INDEX 


Parke,  Gen.  John  G.,  156,  245 

Parks,  Dr.,  259 

Parkhurst,  Dr.  C.  H.,  129 

Parochial  Missions  Society,  the,  101,  156 

Pastorals  of  H.  Y.  S.,  first,  179;  on 
Mixed  Marriages,  263;  on  First  Prin- 
ciple First,  343;  on  Prayer,  347;  on 
Church  Fasts,  349;  on  Giving,  350 

Passion  Play,  the,  at  Oberammergau, 
51;  estimate  by  H.  Y.  S.  of,  52-56; 
122,  243 

Patent  Office,  the,  363 

Patriotism,  address  by  H.  Y.  S.  on,  244 

Pauncefote,  Lord,  246;  death  of,  247 

Peace  Cross,  at  Washington  Cathedral, 
226,  228,  370-372 

"Peace  Cross  Book,"  the,  227;  quoted, 
232;  372 

Penick,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.,  285 

People's  Palace,  the,  134 

Percival,  Dr.,  195 

"  Peril  and  Preservation  of  the  Home," 
the,  quoted,  116 

Perry,  Rev.  J.  B.,  235,  236 

Peters,  Rev.  Thomas,  109 

Philippine  Islands,  the  Bishop  of  the, 
285 

Philippines,  the,  problem  of,  240-241; 
252,  253,  270 

Pierce,  Rev.  C.  C,  240,  241,  381 

Pigou,  Rev.  Francis,  99 

Pinkham,  Bishop,  380 

Pinckney,  Bishop  William,  322 

Playters,  the,  1 

Porto  Rico,  241,  251,  253,  270 

Pott,  Dr.,  267 

Potter,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  H.  C,  94,  95; 
quoted,  100;  106,  1 13,  145,  174,  204, 
241,  251,  259,  372 

Potter,  Bishop  Horatio,  17,  19,  23,  36,94 

Pragmatism,  261 

Prayer  Book,  the,  reverence  of  H.  Y.  S. 
for,  189;  celebration  of  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  first  Communion  Service 
of,  228 

Preaching,  value  attached  by  H.  Y.  S. 
to,  319 

Prentiss,  G.  L.,  Jr.,  quoted,  74 

Priest,  Edgar,  396 


Princeton  University,  208,  243 
Prisoners'  Aid  Association,  the,  276,  412 
"Private  Record  of  H.  Y.  S."  quoted, 

361,  362,  368,  385,  391,  393,  457 
Pro-Cathedral,     the,     at    Washington, 

D.  C,  208,  259,  413 
Protestant  Communions,  263,  270 
Pyne,  Mrs.  Percy  R.  letters  from, 
H.  Y.  S.  to,  93, 119, 133, 136,137,209, 
215,  227;  supports  H.  Y.  S.  in  estab- 
lishing Working  Men's  Club,  136; 
death  of,  245;    378 

Quadrilateral,  the,  263 
Quietism,  93 

Rainsford,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  S.,  94,  no 

Randolph,  Bishop  A.  M.,  230 

Ransford,  Rev.  R.  B.,  99 

"Recessional,"  Kipling's,  211 

Reese,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  Livingston,  174 

Reese,  W.  Henry,  21,  35,  36,  41,  50 

Reeve,  Arthur,  335 

Reid,  Whitelaw,  436 

Religious  Orders,  H.  Y.  S.  states  his  po- 
sition on,  114-115 

Renwick,  James,  y6 

Rhinelander,  F.  W.,  83,  154 

Rhinelander,  Mrs.  F.  W.,  xi;  letter 
from  Theodore  Roosevelt  to,  117; 
letter  from  Dr.  Davidson  to,  213- 
214;  in  England,  216.  See  also  Sat- 
terlee,  Constance 

Rhinelander,  Miss,  137 

Rhinelander,  Rev.  P.  M.,  25,  40,  208, 
209,  215,  216,  296,  365,  372,  386;  his 
tribute  to  H.  Y.  S.,  416-418 

Riis,  Jacob  A.,  quoted,  116;    129,  276 

Riley,  Rev.  Henry  C,  140,  330 

Ripon,  the  Bishop  of,  287 

Rives,  Dr.  W.  C,  103,  118,  137,  308; 
309,  310,  370,  388 

Rives,  Mrs.  Dr.  W.  C,  103,  106,  118, 
137,  138,  253,  286-287,  303,  308,  313, 

370,  378 

Rochester,  the  Bishop  of,  215 

Rogers,  Rhoda,  378 

Roman  Catholicism,  ingrained  preju- 
dice of  H.  Y.  S.  against,  52,  262 


INDEX 


47i 


Roosevelt,  President  Theodore,  116; 
letter  to  Mrs.  Rhinelander  on 
H.  Y.  S.,  117;  relations  with  H.  Y.  S., 
186,  187,  259;  quoted,  271;  307,  380, 
381;  his  address  at  Foundation  Stone 
service,  397;  his  gift  to  Bruton 
Church,  402 

Roosevelt,  Mrs.  Theodore,  285,  380, 
381 

Russell,  Mrs.  A.  D.,  242,  254,  255,  279, 
290,  296,  299,  311,  334 

Russia,  the  Emperor  of,  195,  199 

Russia,  the  Empress  of,  199 

Russia,  the  Empress  Dowager  of,  197, 
200 

Rylance,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.,  94 

"Sacra  Privata,"  quoted,  347 

St.  Alban,  Mount,  Washington,  D.  C, 

225,  369 
St.  Alban's  Church,  Washington,  D.  G, 

223,  363,  364,  367,  369,  370,  381 
St.  Andrew,  the  Bishop  of,  264 
St.  Andrew,  the  Brotherhood  of,   381, 

394,  400 
St.  Ann's  Church,  New  York,  23 
St.  Augustine's  Oak,  the,  384 
St.  Bartholomew's  Church,  New  York, 

107 
St.  Hilda's  Stone,  378 
St.   Isaac's  Cathedral,   St.   Petersburg, 

199,  200 
St.  John  the  Divine,  the  Cathedral  of, 

New  York,  420 
St.  John  the  Evangelist,  the  Society  of, 

96 
St.  John's  Church,  Washington,  D.  C, 

25,  182,  283,  384 
St.  John's  Institute,  225,  369 
St.    Margaret's    Church,    Washington, 

D.  C,  366 
St.  Mark's  Church,  Washington,  D.  C, 

becomes     the     pro-Cathedral,      20X; 

H.  Y.  S.  removes  the  Bishop's  chait 

from,  259 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  London,  289,  301, 

307 

St.  Paul'l  Church,  Albany,  4 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Flatbush,  19 


St.  Paul's  Church,  Washington,  D.  C, 
182 

St.  Peter's  Church,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  149 

St.  Saviour's  Church,  Bar  Harbor,  282 

St.  Thomas'  Church,  Croom,  232 

Salvation  Army,  the,  136 

Sanitary  Improvement  Association,  the, 
210 

Satterlee,  the  name,  meaning  of,  1 

Satterlee,  Arthur,  47,  158,  276,  293,  298 

Satterlee,  Benedict,  2 

Satterlee,  Constance,  birth  of,  42;  her 
relations  with  her  father,  42;  307, 
308.    See  also  Rhinelander,  Mrs.  F.  W. 

Satterlee,  Churchill,  birth  of,  33;  bond 
between  his  mother  and,  42;    enters 
Columbia    College,    106;     graduates 
from  Columbia  College,  121;    abroad 
with  his  father,  121;   decides  to  enter 
the  ministry,  122;   marked  by  the  in- 
stinct  of   the    builder,    124;     at    the 
General  Theological  Seminary,    124; 
at  Oxford,  137;  graduates  from  Semi- 
nary and   is  ordained,    145-149;    his 
marriage,  149;   death  of  his  wife,  149; 
advanced  to  the  priesthood,  149;    his 
ill-health,    149;      called     to     Grace 
Church,  Morganton,  N.  C,  149;  ac- 
cepts  call,    151;    invited   to   become 
assistant   to  his  father,    151;     at  his 
father's  consecration  as  Bishop,  174; 
his  second  marriage,  278;  his  children, 
278;  his  death,  278;  his  funeral,  278; 
tribute  of  Bishop  Capers  to,  278;  290, 
307,   308,   309,   370,   371.     See   also 
Fisher  of  Men. 
Satterlee,  Churchill,  Jr.,  278 
Satterlee,  Mrs.  Churchill.     See  Folsom, 

Helen  Stuyvesant 
Satterlee,  Mrs.  Churchill.    See  Humbert, 
Margaret 

Satterlee,  Edward,  father  of  H.  Y.  S.,  t; 
death  of.  w  children  of,  5 

Satterlee,  Mis.  Edward,  3-5;  children 
of,  ;;  hei  influence  on  the  character 
of  H.  Y.  S.,  6;  moves  to  Albany,  6; 
meiiioii.il  of,  43 

Satterlee,  Edward  Rathbone,  grand- 
fa. her  of!  1.  Y.  S.,  2 


472 


INDEX 


Satterlee,  Ethelred,  278 

Satterlee,  Frances,  2 

Satterlee,  Graham,  43 

Satterlee  Henry  Yates,  held  three  repre- 
sentative positions  in  three  represen- 
tative centres  of  life,  xiv;  his  "Index 
Rerum,"  1;  his  ancestry,  2-3;  his 
mother,  4-5;  personal  biographical 
data,  5;  influence  of  his  mother  on 
his  character,  6;  his  boyhood,  6-7; 
his  early  schooling,  9-10;  his  first 
trip  to  Europe,  10-13;  his  early  let- 
ters from  Vienna,  11-13;  his  leader- 
ship in  college,  14;  desires  to  enter 
army,  but  fails,  15;  his  natural  bent 
toward  religion,  16;  his  baptism,  17; 
his  confirmation,  17;  his  graduation 
from  college,  17;  enters  General  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  18;  his  facility  in 
versification,  18;  his  college  theses,  18; 
his  special  advantage  during  Seminary 
training,  18;  begins  practical  church 
work,  19;  lay  reader  at  Wappinger's 
Falls,  19;  ordained  deacon,  19;  as 
assistant  at  Zion  Church,  21-23;  re~ 
ceives  B.  D.  from  General  Theological 
Seminary,  23;  his  marriage,  23;  or- 
dained priest,  23;  settles  in  New 
Hamburgh,  23;  personal  appearance 
of,  24;  his  virility  due  to  struggle,  25; 
characteristics  of,  25-30;  his  religious 
convictions,  27;  his  early  preference 
for  the  Episcopal  Church,  28;  scope 
of  his  work  at  Wappinger's  Falls,  30- 
33;  birth  of  his  son  Churchill,  33;  his 
friendship  with  the  Grinnells,  34;  his 
social  influence,  35;  Zion  Church  en- 
larged, 36;  his  single-mindedness,  38; 
made  use  of  his  organizing  gifts,  40; 
without  fear,  41;  reorganization  of 
Zion  Parish,  41;  birth  of  nis  daughter 
Constance,  42;  his  later  relations  with 
Constance,  42;  elected  rector  of  Zion 
Church,  46;  as  a  character  builder, 
48-50;  his  "Christ  and  His  Church," 
50;  the  Sunday  School  at  New  Ham- 
burgh, 50;  his  second  trip  abroad, 
51-65;  effect  of  Passion  Play  on,  51; 
his  estimate  of  the  Passion  Play,  52- 


56;  his  ingrained  prejudice  against 
Roman  Catholicism,  52,  262;  his  re- 
turn from  Europe,  65;  new  parish 
house  built,  65-66;  called  to  Calvary 
Church,  New  York,  68;  his  frankness 
in  accepting  the  call,  69-70;  born  to 
build,  71;  summary  of  his  work  at 
Zion  Church,  71-73;  his  ministry  at, 
74~9S;  receives  D.D.  from  Union 
College,  79;  his  problem  at  Calvary 
Church,  79-80;  chooses  his  leaders, 
82;  his  relations  with  Hadden,  83-84; 
his  power  to  win  loyalty,  84;  his 
preaching,  85;  his  power  among  wo- 
men, 85;  the  case  of  Mrs.  Foster,  86- 
89;  founds  Galilee  Mission,  89;  his 
three  purposes,  89;  his  attitude  to- 
ward acquisition  of  property,  91;  hi" 
spiritual  leadership,  93;  at  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  Zion  Church,  94-95; 
an  ardent  advocate  of  the  Advent 
Mission,  97;  his  visions  for  Calvary 
Church  at  fiftieth  anniversary,  102; 
elected  Assistant  Bishop  of  Ohio,  106; 
declines  the  call,  106;  takes  an  in- 
terest in  the  office  of  Deaconess,  107, 
1 10;  his  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  1 10- 
113;  strongly  supported  Roosevelt 
as  Police  Commissioner,  116;  Roose- 
velt's estimate  of,  117",  elected  Bishop 
of  Michigan,  117;  declines  the  call, 
117;  effective  rather  than  efficient, 
119;  broadens  interests  of  Calvary 
Church,  120-121;  third  trip  abroad, 
121;  his  son  Churchill  decides  to  enter 
the  ministry,  122;  the  Rev.  W.  J.  D. 
Thomas'  estimate  of,  125;  his  influ- 
ence with  his  "boys,"  124-126;  his 
"Hints  on  Pastoral  Work,"  127-129; 
his  connection  with  the  Church  Mis- 
sons  House,  130;  nominated  Bishop 
of  Massachusetts,  131;  Phillips 
Brooks'  estimate  of,  131;  an  oppo- 
nent of  pewed  churches,  132;  fourth 
trip  abroad,  133;  his  interest  in  Work- 
ing Men's  Clubs,  133-138;  his  serv- 
ice to  the  Mexican  Church,  139-143; 
reviews  his  decade  of  service  at  Cal- 
vary  Church,    143-145;     graduation 


INDEX 


473 


from  Seminary  and  ordination  of  his 
son  Churchill,   145-149;  nis  experi- 
ence in  Morganton,  N.  C,  149-151; 
his  "Creedless  Gospel  and  the  Gospel 
Creed,"  151-153;    his  last  two  years 
at  Calvary  Church,  154;    his  survey 
of  work  at  Calvary  Church,  154-156; 
elected  Bishop  of  Washington,   156; 
accepts  the  call,  157;    announces  his 
decision  to  his  Vestry,   159-164;    re 
his  successor,  163-164;  passionate  re- 
gret over  his  departure,  165;    verses 
written  to,  165;    consecrated  Bishop, 
174-178;     his    first    official    act    as 
Bishop,  178;    his  first  experiences  in 
Washington,  180-182;    McKim's  es- 
timate of,  182;    his  address  at  First 
Diocesan  Convention  at  Washington, 
183;    his  attitude  to  U.  S.  Govern- 
ment, 185;   his  relations  with  Roose- 
velt, 186,  187;    his  efforts  on  behalf 
of  the  Indians,  187;  his  efforts  to  im- 
prove position  of  chaplains,  187-188; 
his  sympathy  for  the  vexations  of  the 
Church  of  England,  188;    his  rever- 
ence for  the  Prayer  Book,  189;    fifth 
trip  abroad,  190-206;    his  mission  to 
Russia,   190-205;    received    by  Em- 
peror of  Russia,   199;    his  interview 
with  the  Empress  Dowager,  200;    re- 
ceives D.  D.  from  Princeton,  208;  his 
relations    at    St.    Mark's,    208-209; 
his    interest    in    civic    affairs,    210; 
his  interest  in  the  negroes,  210;  his 
comments  on  the  Apostolicae  Curae, 
210-21 1 ;    receives   LL.D.   from   Co- 
lumbia,  211;    attends   the  Lambeth 
Conference,     211-213;      sixth     trip 
abroad,    211-213;     Davidson's    esti- 
mate of,  213-214;    letters  on  Lam- 
beth Conference,  214-217;    an  unde- 
sirable    experience,     217-220;       his 
position    on    the    Spanish-American 
War,    221-223;     his    relations    with 
President     McKinley,     221-223;      in 
the    Catskills,    223-225;     the    Peace 
Cross,  226;    the  pilgrimage  to  James- 
town, 229;    the  translation  of  Bishop 
Claggett's    remains,     230-232;     dis- 


locates his  elbow,  233;    his  efforts  to 
raise    debt    on    Cathedral    property, 
233;      publishes     "New     Testament 
Churchmanship,"    236;     tries   to   se- 
cure   the    episcopate  for  the  Philip- 
pines, Cuba,  and   Porto  Rico,   240- 
241;    seventh  trip  abroad,  243;    his 
address  at  Princeton,   243-245;    his 
tribute  to  Queen  Victoria,  246;    his 
tribute  to  President  McKinley,  247; 
worry   over   Cathedral    School,   248; 
his  concern  for  missions,  249;   in  San 
Francisco,    252;    a   pronounced    Sab- 
batarian,  257;    the  C.   T.   S.   crisis, 
257-259;    removes  Bishop's  chair  to 
Church  of  the  Ascension,   259;    the 
problem  of  divided  Christendom,  260; 
his  attitude  on  mixed  marriages,  263; 
his   hope   for    the   Church's   organic 
unity,  263;  his  part  in  the  All-Ameri- 
can   Conference,    268-275;    his   esti- 
mate of  Bishop  Dudley,  269;    a  tri- 
umphant    dreamer,     270-271;      his 
support  of  the  Prisoners'  Aid  Associa- 
tion, 276;  death  of  his  son  Churchill, 
278-281;  ill  with  typhoid,  282;  visit 
of  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,   282- 
287;   consecration  of  the  Altar  Cross, 
283-286;    at  General  Convention  in 
Boston,  286;   the  National  Cathedral 
School   for   Boys,    287;     eighth    trip 
abroad,  288-316;   the  Ambon  for  the 
Cathedral,  292,  301;  Cathedral  mort- 
gage cancelled,  317,  385;    the  value 
he  attached   to  preaching,   319;    his 
service  to  rural  part  of  his  Diocese, 
322-324;    the  Mexican  Church,  324- 
331;    visit  from  Nevin  to,  328;    the 
Canal    Zone,    332;     his    ninth    trip 
abroad,  333-336;    his  continued   in- 
terest in  the  negroes,   336-341;    his 
attitude   toward    the    Bible    and    the 
Book  of  Common    Prayer,   342-344; 
his     Advent     Pastoral,     1904,     347; 
Christian  giving,   349;    baptism   and 
the    Eucharist,    350-353;     jealous    as 
to  his  churchmanship,  353;   an  ardent 
nationalist,   355;     a   firm    believer   in 
religious  liberty,  355;    "Private  Rec- 


474 


INDEX 


ord"  of,  362;  his  reasons  for  accept- 
ing Bishopric  of  Washington,  362; 
the  coming  of  the  Cathedral,  363— 
392;  unveiling  of  the  Peace  Cross, 
370-372;  his  summary  of  progress 
on  the  Cathedral,  379;  the  Ail-Amer- 
ican Conference,  380-382;  effect  of 
financial  strain  upon,  385;  plans  for 
building  Cathedral,  386-392;  laying 
of  Foundation  Stone,  393-400;  his 
remarks  on  accepting  the  Ambon, 
401;  his  last  letter,  403;  his  last  ill- 
ness, 403-404;  his  death,  405;  his 
burial  service,  405;  commemorative 
resolutions  on  death  of,  405-407;  his 
legacy  of  character  and  service,  408- 
410;  tributes  to  memory  of,  411-421; 
extracts  from  correspondence  be- 
tween Bodley  and,  423-441,  between 
Vaughan  and,  441-455;  his  idea  of 
an  American  Cathedral,  457-460 
Letters  from  H.  T.  S.:  to  Aunts,  re 
Europe,  11;  to  Arthur  S.,  re  Church 
duties,  47,  re  death  of  Arthur  Cat- 
lin,  276,  277;  to  Mary  S.  Catlin,  re 
Holy  Land,  56,  re  England,  62;  to 
Mrs.  Pyne,  re  Quietism,  93;  to  Dr. 
Rives,  re  Galilee  Mission,  103;  to 
Mrs.  Rives,  re  Galilee  Mission,  104; 
to  Mrs.  Rives,  re  Bishopric  of  Ohio, 
106;  to  Fr.  Paul  James  Francis,  re  re- 
ligious orders,  114;  to  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Rives,  re  bereavement,  118;  to  Mrs. 
Pyne,  re  executive  ability,  119,  re 
Working  Men's  Clubs,  133,  136,  137; 
to  Bishop  Coleman,  re  call  to  Wash- 
ington, 157;  to  Committee,  accept- 
ing call  to  Washington,  157-158; 
to  Arthur  S.,  re  acceptance,  158; 
to  Aldrich,  re  acceptance,  158;  to 
Vestry,  re  successor,  159-164;  to 
parishioners  of  Calvary  Church,  re 
departure,  179;  to  Dr.  A.,  re  atti- 
tude to  U.  S.  Government,  185-186; 
to  Dr.  De  Vries,  re  friendship,  209; 
to  Mrs.  Pyne,  re  first  year  in  Wash- 
ington, 209;  to  Dr.  De  Vries,  re  Lam- 
beth Conference,  214;  to  Mrs.  Pyne, 
re    Lambeth    Conference,    215;      to 


President  McKinley,  re  relief  for  Cu- 
bans, 222;  to  Grinnell,  re  War,  224; 
to  Mrs.  Pyne,  re  War,  227;  to  Rev. 
Mr.  Perry,  re  private  chapel,  236;  to 
Bishop  Potter,  re  Philippines,  241; 
to  Mrs.  Russell,  re  trip  abroad,  242; 
to  Mrs.  Bruce,  re  Cathedral  School, 
248;  to  McBee,  re  Missions,  249,  250; 
to  Mrs.  Rives,  re  General  Conven- 
tion, 253,  286,  287;  to  Mrs.  Russell, 
re  gift  for  Cathedral,  254,  re  Cathe- 
dral Kalendar,  255;  to  Bishop 
Doane,  re  C.  T.  S.,  258,  259;  to  Dr. 
De  Vries,  re  pro-Cathedral,  259;  to 
Dr.  Wilkinson,  re  baptistery,  264;  to 
Mr.  Grinnell,  re  Christmas,  266;  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grinnell,  re  birthday, 
267;  to  Miss  Mackrille,  re  open-air 
service,  275;  to  Mr.  Riis,  re  Prison- 
ers' Aid  Association,  276;  to  Mrs. 
Dudley,  re  death  of  Bishop  Dudley, 
277;  to  Mrs.  Russell,  re  Churchill's 
death,  279;  to  Mr.  Schuyler,  re 
"Fisher  of  Men,"  279,  281;  to  Mrs. 
Churchill  S.,  re  Churchill's  death, 
280;  to  Bishop  Tuttle,  re  religious 
revival,  288;  to  Mrs.  Russell,  from 
Nauheim,  290;  to  Dr.  De  Vries,  re 
Ambon,  291;  to  Arthur  S.,  from  Nau- 
heim, 293;  to  Dr.  De  Vries,  from 
Nauheim,  295;  to  Mrs.  Russell,  re 
Ambon,  296,  re  England,  etc.,  299;  to 
Dr.  De  Vries,  re  Italy,  302;  to  Mrs. 
Rives,  re  Cathedral,  303;  to  Mrs. 
Julian  James,  re  travels,  306;  to 
Mrs.  Rives,  from  Brunnen,  308;  to 
Mrs.  Russell,  re  Florence,  etc.,  311; 
to  Mrs.  Rives,  re  Rome,  313;  to  Mrs. 
James,  re  gift,  317,  319;  to  Mr. 
Forrester,  re  Mexican  Church,  324, 
326,  330;  to  Bishop  Doane,  re  Mexi- 
can Church,  327;  to  Bishop  Johnson, 
re  Mexican  Church,  328;  to  Mr. 
Jones-Bateman,  re  confirmation,  331; 
to  Bishop  Tuttle,  re  Canal  Zone,  332; 
to  Dr.  De  Vries,  re  Cathedral,  333; 
to  Mrs.  Russell,  re  Gothic  Architec- 
ture, 334;  to  Bishop,  re  negro  prob- 
lem, 337;  to  Dr.  Bodley,  re  Cathedral 


INDEX 


475 


plans,  360;  to  Edgar  Priest,  re  music 
at  Foundation  Stone  service,  396;  to 
one  of  his  clergy,  re  Virgin  Birth,  403; 
to  G.  F.  Bodley,  re  Cathedral,  423- 
441;    to  Henry  Vaughan,  re  Cathe- 
dral, 441-455 
Letters   to   H.    T.    S.;    from    Fr.    Paul 
James    Francis,    re    religious    orders, 
113;  from  Dr.  G.  W.  Smith,  re  Mex- 
ico, 141;    from  Senator  Edmunds,  re 
funds  for  Cathedral,  234;   from  Rev. 
Mr.   Perry,   re   private   chapel,   235; 
from  Canon  Gore,  re  fasting  commun- 
ion, 237;  from  Dr.  Legge,  re  church- 
manship,  238;  from  Dr.  Davidson,  re 
churchmanship,  238;   from  Dr.  Mac- 
kay-Smith,    re    fifth    anniversary    of 
consecration,  248;   from  Mr.  McBee, 
re  Missions,  250;   from  Bishop  Boyd 
Vincent,    re    conference,    273;     from 
Bishop  Nuttall,   re  conference,  273; 
from    Bishop   Edsall,    re   conference, 
274;    from  Archdeacon  Williams,  re 
conference,  274;    from  Gen.  Wilson, 
re  open-air  service,   275;    from  Mr. 
Forrester,  re  Mexican  Church,   325, 
327;    from  Bishop  Tuttle,  re  Canal 
Zone,  332;    from  Bishop  Wilmer,  re 
Bible,  344;    from  Bishop  of  Bristol, 
re  Cathedra,'374;  from  G.  F.  Bodley, 
re  Cathedral,  423-441;    from  Henry 
Vaughan,     re     Cathedral,     441-455 
Satterlee,  Henry  Yates  (second),  278 
Satterlee,    Mrs.    H.    Y.,    xi;     her    first 
meeting  with  H.  Y.  S.,  17;    estimate 
of,   17;    her  marriage,  23;    bond  be- 
tween her  son  Churchill  and,  42;  her 
share  in  her  husband's  life  and  labor, 
46;    letter  from  Rev.  W.  J.  Denziloe 
Thomas   to,    125;    letter   from    Rev. 
T.  A.  Conover  to,  127;    153;   tributes 
to,    165-166;     letters    from    Breckin- 
ridge to,  201-204;    in  England,  216; 
285;  letter  to  Arthur  S.  from,  298; 
307,  308 
Satterlee,  Herbert  L.,  3 
Satterlee,  Mrs.  Herbert  L.,  3 
Satterlee,  Mary  Lansing.     Sec    Cathn, 
Mrs.  Capt.  Robert 


Satterlee,  Walter,  14,  17 

Satterlee,  William,  2 

Savonarola,  290 

Schott,  Dr.,  290  296,  299,  334 

Schuyler,  Rev.  Hamilton,  42,  106,  122, 

145,  151,  278-281 
Scott,  Gilbert,  335 
Scrymser,  Mr.,  324 

Scudder,  Dr.  Charles  D.,  death  of,  144 
Sergieff,  Father  John,  200 
Seward,  Clarence,  82 
Shanghai,  the  Bishop  of,  240 
Shealey,  Mr.,  274 
Shepherd,  Dr.,  309 
Shields,  Professor,  377 
Sisterhoods.     See  Deaconess 
Smith,  Dr.  Cornelius  B.,  370,  421 
Smith,  Rev.  George  Williamson,  quoted, 
141 

Smith,  Rev.  W.,  168 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, the,  243 

Soterle,  Roger  de,  1 

Soterlega,  original  of  the  name  Satter- 
lee, 1 

Sotterley,  Thomas,  1 

Spanish-American  War,  the,  221,  225 

"Spirit  of  Missions,"  quoted,  130 

Staley,  Dr.  Thomas  N.,  19 

Stanley,  Dean,  156 

Starkey,  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  A.,  4 

Starr,  Ellen  G.,  129 

Stead,  W.  T.,  133 

"Stella      Peithologiana,"      poem      by 
H.  Y.  S.,  18 

Sternberg,  General,  210 

"Stoney  Lonesome,"  19 

Sullivan,  Rev.  Dr.,  79 

Tait,  Miss,  216,  217 

"Tee  To  Turn  Club,"  the,  134 

Temple,  Dr.,  211;  estimate  of,  21 1-2 1 2. 

See  also  Canterbury  Archbishop  of, 
Ten  Broeck,  Rev.  Anthony,  226 
Thomas,    Rev.    W.    J.    Denziloe,     125, 

404 
Thompson,  John,  267 
Tiffany,  Dr.,  106 
"Tunes,"  the  Richmond,  quoted,  229 


476 


INDEX 


"Times,"     the,   Washington,     quoted, 

225 

"Tombs'  Angel,"  the.  See  Foster,  Mrs. 
Rebecca  Salome 

Tomkins,  Rev.  Floyd  W.,  82,  419 

Tonalier,  Dr.,  5 

"Town  Topics,"  249 

Toynbee  Hall,  121,  134-136,  215 

Trinity  Church,  New  York,  17,  76,  94 

Truro  Cathedral,  335 

Turner,  Rev.  J.  F.,  84 

Tuttle,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  D.  S.,  99,  288; 
correspondence  with  H.  Y.  S.  con- 
cerning Canal  Zone,  332;  tribute  to 
H.  Y.  S.,  414 

Twilight  Park,  223,  239,  240 

Union  College,  3,  79 

United  States  Military  Academy,  the, 

West  Point,  15 
Unity,  Church,  263 
University    Settlement,    the,    idea    of, 

129 

Van  Buren,  Bishop,  328 

Van  de  Water,  Rev.  George  R.,  106, 
419 

Vaughan,  Henry,  333,  387,  388,  389, 
390,  403,  423,  424,  430,  433,  434,  435, 
436;  extracts  from  correspondence 
between  H.  Y.  S.  and,  441-455 

Victoria,  Queen,  211;  tribute  of  H.  Y.  S. 
to,  246 

Vincent,  Bishop  Boyd,  273 

Virgin  Birth,  attitude  of  H.  Y.  S.  on, 

403 
"Vision    of   Charles    the    Eleventh    of 

Sweden,"  poem  by  H.  Y.  S.,  18 

Waggett,  Father,  400 

Walpole,  Rev.  Dr.  G.  H.  Somerset,  208, 

355>  378 
Walton,  Izaak,  quoted,  xvi 

Wappinger's  Falls,  N.  Y.,  19;  described, 
20;  ministry  of  H.  Y.  S.  at,  24-75; 
the  library  at,  31,  67 

Warner,  Mr.,  318,  389*  457 

Warner,  Rev.  C.  T.,  xii 

Warren,  Rev.  E.  Walpole,  99,  291 


Washburn  Rev.  Dr.  E.  A.,  69,  79,  156 
Washburn,  Mrs.  Dr.  E.  A.,  69;  death  of, 

145 

Washington,  city  of,  character  of,  356— 

357 

Washington  Cathedral,  the.  See  Na- 
tional Cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul 

"Washington  Cathedral  and  the  Work- 
ing out  of  an  Ideal,"  by  H.  Y.  S., 
quoted,  360 

Washington  Clericus,  the,  319 

Washington,  the  Diocese  of,  slow  in 
coming,  167;  history  of,  168-173; 
elects  H.  Y.  S.  its  first  Bishop,  173- 
174;  first  Diocesan  Convention,  183; 
seal  devised  for,  263;  its  erection 
happened  at  psychological  moment, 

356 
Washington,    President    George,    225, 

363,  369,  396 
Wendell,  Jacob,  154 
West  Indies,  the  Archbishop  of  the,  271, 

274.  275>  332,  380,  395 
Westminster  Abbey,  211 
Wetmore,  Alice  M.,  43 
Wetmore,  Marie  P.,  43 
Wetmore,  T.  R.,  41 
Whittingham,     Bishop    W.     R.,     168; 

quoted,  169;    226 
Wilkinson,  Dr.  G.  H.,  264,  376 
Williams,  Ven.  R.  P.,  106,  174,  218,  327; 

quoted  on  H.  Y.  S.  and  negroes,  340; 

362 
Wilmer,  Bishop  R.  H.,  344 
Wilson,  Bishop,  347 
Wilson,  General  J.  M.,  380,  457 
Winchester,    the   Bishop  of,   216,   217, 

238 
Working  Men's  Clubs,  interest  shown 

by  H.  Y.  S.  in,  133-138 
World's  First  Parliament  of  Religions, 

the,  151 
Whipple,  Bishop,  213 
Whiton,  Miss,  248 

Yates,  Prof.  Andrew,  8 
Yates,  Charles,  3 
Yates,  Christopher,  3,  8 


INDEX 


477 


Yates,  Henry,  grandfather  of  H.  Y.  S.,  3; 
opens  his  doors  to  his  daughter  and 
her  family,  6;   death  of,  7;   estimate 

of,  7-8 

Yates,  Henry,  uncle  of  H.  Y.  S.,  3 

Yates,  Jane  Anna,  3.  See  Satterlee, 
Mrs.  Edward 

Yates,  John  B.,  8 

Yates,  Joseph  Christopher,  3,  6,  8 

Yates,  Mary,  3 

Yates,  Peter  W.,  8 

Yates,  Stephen,  3 

Yates  Mansion,  the,  in  Albany,  hospi- 
tality of,  7 

Year  book,  the,  of  Zion  Church,  50 


Year  Books,  the,  of  Calvary  Church, 

quoted,  90,  103,  143-145;    161 
York,  the  Archbishop  of,  210 

Zabriskie,  George,  83,  154,  196,  259 
Zion  Church,  Wappinger's  Falls,  N.  Y., 
19,  20;  its  beginnings,  21;  ministry 
of  H.  Y.  S.  at,  24-25;  enlarged,  36; 
reorganization  of,  41;  becomes  a 
shrine  of  memories,  43;  H.  Y.  S. 
elected  rector  of,  46;  first  Year  Book 
of,  50;  new  parish  house  built,  65-66; 
H.  Y.  S.  leaves,  71;  summary  of  his 
work  at,  71-73;  celebrates  fiftieth 
anniversary,  94 


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